


What we are (is a bunch of one-shots)

by AXEe



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, One-Shots, Some possible hurt/comfort, some possible angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-03 12:52:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 64
Words: 28,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8714683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: A series of one-shots set within the What we are-verse





	1. Hats

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to What we are one-shots, a series of one-shots set within my What we are-verse, and don't worry I'm still working on Part Six of What we are, but for now, fluffy one-shots!!!

******

Since Astra had effectively moved in after she made a deal with General Lane, Alex expected to find that the other woman had quirks, neuroses, habits. But she was still surprised by what she found

Firstly Astra was a late-riser, if Alex didn’t wake her she was fairly certain that Astra would happily stay in bed until noon or later, next came her bathroom habits, i.e. she’d leave a wave (both literal and figurative) in the bathroom each morning, which only served to ensure that Alex showered _first_ , which since she was the first to get up anyway, wasn’t that big of a problem, but by far the oddest habit/quirk/neurosis that Astra had was her thing for hats.

She was practically _obsessed_ with hats. Big hats, little hats, ball caps, berets, flowery hats, you named any type of hat and chances are Astra had either already bought it or was looking for it.

Today’s hat was a black fedora and Alex steadfastly ignored the stares from the other agents as she and Astra walked into the DEO, fortunately no one commented on it, mostly like because they were terrified of what Astra might _do_ to them if they insulted her choice in headwear. In truth it was a very _nice_ hat, but still why hats? Alex had to wonder

“Alex!” Kara waved as she came over, she stopped and looked up at the hat “uh, Aunt Astra? Why are you wearing a fedora?” she asked

“I like it” Astra replied evenly, Kara shrugged

“OK,” she said, she turned to Alex and started discussing something that had happened at CatCo earlier this morning, and as Alex listened she looked back over at Astra

Screw it, she’d buy Astra a _billion_ hats if it made her happy


	2. Warrior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For snow_lily, who liked my unintentional Xena reference in Part Four

Astra didn't like TV.

Alex knew this for a **fact** just like she knew that the world was round, the sky was blue, and the earth revolved around the sun. Astra thought most television shows out there were either confusing or annoying or otherwise not entertaining and just generally 'beneath' her

Which begged the obvious question: why was Astra In-ze, General in Krypton's Military Guild, watching Xena?

"Are you watching Xena?" she finally asked after standing in the doorway for a few minutes, Astra grunted in response which Alex took to mean yes "OK," she slowly approached the couch "next question, _why_ , are you watching Xena?" another grunt "all right, let me rephrase that, you hate TV so why...are...you...watching..." she trailed off, already getting caught up in ogling Lucy Lawless kick butt

Oh

That's why

"Is there more popcorn?" she finally asked, Astra grunted again and held out the bowl, Alex plopped down next to her and decided she'd ask questions later. She glanced down at the coffee table, quickly spotting the full series box set

Yes, questions could definitely wait for later


	3. To Boldy Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated in memory of Gene Roddenberry, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelly

Alex wasn't sure if Astra would like _Star Trek_.

Kara didn't, she had found it strange and absurd, but Alex loved it, ever since she had first seen _The Trouble With Tribbles_ when she was eight or so while siting on Jeremiah's lap. Since then she'd become a diehard, closet Trekkie, she'd seen all the movies (even those awful ones that J.J. Abrams had made, ick!) and every version of the show, _Next Generation_ , _Voyager_ , even the _Animated Series_ , _Deep Space Nine_ had been a personal favorite, and _Enterprise_...well, she'd tried with that one, she really had, but despite Scott Bakula...nope, couldn't do it.

But the _Original Series_ had always been her favorite (she was mature enough to admit to still having a mild crush on Mr. Spock), even the bad episodes (the less said about _Spock's Brain_ the better), but now she was nervous about watching her favorite show with Astra, because she wasn't sure if Astra would like it or not

"What is the premise of this series?" Astra asked while Alex set up the DVDs and the popcorn

"I can't really explain it," Alex admitted "you'll just have to see it for yourself" Astra simply nodded. She was mostly silent for the first season, only asking a question here or there or making some kind of comment, by the second season she was completely silent, and by the third season (as bad as it was) she was glued to the screen (not even taking her eyes off the screen when she reached for the snack bowl). Finally as the end credits for Turnabout Intruder rolled, she turned to Alex, blinking, and asked

"Is there more?" Alex grinned

"Lots more" she confirmed, Astra nodded

"Good," she said "I would hate to see this 'Gene Roddenberry's' genius be wasted" she declared, Alex grinned and then got up and grabbed the box set for _Next Generation_ and popped the first disc in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually very fun to write, my first exposure to Roddenberry's genus was through Next Generation, as the story goes, my mother was doubtful about my liking the Original Series because of the (by today's standards) cheesy special effects, well, mom, you were wrong, I liked it better than Next Generation (despite my crush on Gates McFaden as Dr. Crusher :=)


	4. Netflix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, another What we are one-shot (yay!!) UPDATE: I forgot to mention, but credit for this and the last chapter must go to Anirandom who offered up these two ideas!

"OK, so you just click here..." having a girlfriend who was an alien was going to lead to some obvious hiccups Alex knew, chief among them being technology gap, she knew just from growing with Kara that some forms of technology on Earth were very primitive by Kryptonian standards, others were completely foreign concepts, the popcorn maker being one for Kara, Netflix was one for Astra, apparently the idea of being able to watch TV from anywhere any time you wanted was an unknown idea on Krypton, of course so was TV, but that was neither here nor there.

Alex had a Netflix account but didn't really use it that often, mostly because she was hardly ever home, but with a live-in alien (plus the two weeks of downtime J'onn had ordered after their encounter with Indigo) Alex now had plenty of time to binge-watch her favorite shows, she knew that Astra liked _Call the Midwife_ , so did Alex for that matter and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to both show Astra how to use Netflix and to watch a few episodes of one of her favorite shows. Finally after walking Astra through the process they both happily sat down and watched the entire first season.

In retrospect, Alex should have probably mentioned the fact that she had to _pay_ for Netflix to Astra, because when her bill came at the end of the month it was....not pretty to be perfectly blunt, and frankly Alex didn't know there could be that many digits after a decimal point, and not all of them were zeros. Yikes!

So, she called Winn, not to help get rid of the bill (although she'd be lying to say she wasn't tempted to ask him to hack into her account and change a few numbers around) but help explain to Astra the concept of capitalism and consumerism, because those were two other foreign concepts to Kryptonians, Krypton had apparently been a democratic socialist republic, no money (or least no cash) and very little greed. Finally after about fifteen minutes both she and Winn had explained the idea to Astra, secured a heartfelt apology from her, and the offer from Winn to help Astra get her own bank account and credit score (once the government bureaucrats finally got around to getting Astra's identity papers drawn up, honestly she'd been working for the DEO for nearly three months) so she could get her on Netflix account to stream Call the Midwife herself.

About a week later, Astra walked into the kitchen and dropped an envelope on the island, inside were a bunch of IDs, a California ID, a Social Security card, and a birth certificate. The woman now known as 'Astra Linda Inzeli' (and Alex was still wondering why 'Linda'?) had smiled triumphantly and explained that Winn had used his computer skills to 'encourage' the pencil pushers in Washington to expedite her papers, Alex wasn't complaining, and neither was J'onn who had simply nodded and grumbled 'about time'.

One of the first things Astra had done with her new identity was open a checking account and then a Netflix account, and Alex had just laughed and snuggled closer on the couch to Astra, happy that she was happy

And happy that Astra could pay for the bill this time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't use Netflix so have no idea how it works, sorry


	5. Cultural Differences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for sexual content

Alex knew from the moment that Superman dropped Kara off on her front lawn that Kryptonians would have a different culture than humans, and she was right. When she had come out to her mother that she liked both boys and girls Kara hadn't blinked (Eliza had done enough of that, and more) and announced that Kryptonians didn't have any taboos against same-sex relationships, but the difference was that Kara had been a child, Astra was not, so of course Astra would follow a different set of rules and traditions than Kara had as a kid, largely because Kara had fully assimilated to American culture, while Astra had not, and probably never would, at least not completely anyway

Item one: Kryptonian women apparently didn't shave their body hair, Alex had discovered this one during her first time Astra, it had been a little surprising, but not off-putting, and in fact it was kind of cool actually (and even a little sexy actually), so she had been very patient when she explained that most American women shaved their legs and under their arms (although Alex herself drew the line at shaving her public hairs, if anything the thought of having a razor blade, even a safety razor, so close to such a sensitive area made her cringe), after she was done with her explanation (given while she was actually shaving her legs) Astra had nodded politely and said "I see" (although she clearly didn't) and explained that Kryptonina women didn't believe in 'mutilating' themselves for the sake of beauty.

Item two: Kryptonian sexual taboos were very different than humans, for one thing they didn't have any taboos against sex being a private affair, and while sex in public was still a firm no-no among Kryptonians, it was very a different matter when it came to friends and family, apparently it was common and completely normal to greet relatives when you were doing the deed. Something that Alex found out the hard way.

It had been during a practically _eager_ afternoon quickie when Alex had heard her front door open then Winn's voice call out (she was already regretting giving him that spare key, which she had only done so once it became clear that he and Astra were going to be friends for real), Astra had lifted her head from where she had nuzzling Alex's neck and called out 

"In here, Winn!" Alex had been about to protest (loudly and with lots of four letter words), but Astra had been doing that _thing_ with her fingers that made speech impossible, so all she could do was lay there as Winn came round the corner to the _open_ bedroom door and scream bloody murder at what he saw

"OHMYGODIAM _SO_ SORRY!!" he scurried back, twisting away and throwing his arm over his eyes "AH GEEZ WARN A GUY NEXT TIME!!!"

"Winn, what is it?" Kara suddenly called out

"NO! DON'T GO..." Winn tried, but too late, Kara peeked around the door, and both she and Alex screamed at about the same time and at the same pitch. Astra had calmly looked over her shoulder at Winn and her niece and calmly asked (as if she _wasn't_ trying to fuck Alex senseless)

"Was there something you both wanted?"

"NO!" Kara grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door shut "WE'LL COME BACK LATER!!" she called out from the other side, the front door slammed shut and then silence reigned, Astra had blinked and looked down at Alex (who was both embarrassed and sexually frustrated at the same time) confused

"Did I say something wrong?" Astra wondered, and Alex couldn't help it. She laughed. Once she was finally done laughing hysterically in Astra's face she sat the other woman down and explained that most Humans didn't have such a 'relaxed' attitude towards sex, Astra had countered that such a view would probably keep Humanity from developing true space flight for at least another century, Alex had just sighed and hoped that she could face Kara tomorrow morning


	6. Anatomically (in)correct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or where Alex learns that just because Astra _looks_ human, doesn't mean that everything's in the same place. Missing scene from Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for sexual content

Having sex with an alien was going to be...different Alex knew, but so far everything going like normal, Astra seem to enjoy the way Alex gently nibbled on her neck (and enjoyed the not-so gentle biting too, and the fact that she could bit down as hard as she wanted and not worry about hurting Astra was way more arousing than she cared to admit), the Kryptonian's breasts were just as sensitive as a human woman's, and Alex had yet to encounter any tentacles or other strange aspects of Kryptonian biology as she worked her hand into the waistband of Astra's jeans (and why Astra was still wearing her jeans while Alex herself was completely nude was beyond her), running her fingers through the thick tuff of hair she found there and down between Astra's legs. So far everything was arranged just like a human woman

Wait a minute, something was...off here.

Alex frowned and pulled back slightly

"Wha, what is it?" Astra asked, panting for breath and her tone clearly indicated that Alex had better have a _damn_ good reason for stopping

"You don't have a clitoris" Alex stated, Astra blinked through the haze of arousal

"What?"

"A clitoris, you don't have one" Astra blinked, and then chuckled

"Oh, no, here," she sat up slightly and gently gripped Alex's wrist, guiding Alex's hand towards her entrance "inside," she said, frowning, Alex gently slipped her fingers inside, enjoying Astra's little gasp "curl your fingers forward" Astra instructed breathlessly "right... _there_ " she sighed, closing her eyes as Alex suddenly felt a large, flattened bump about the size of a dime on the inside wall where a human woman's g-spot would be

"So, that's..."

" _Yesss_ " Astra sighed in response, eyes closed, OK, yeah, she thought as she watched Astra's back arch when she stroked the little bump, sex with an alien was different, but that didn't mean she was going to stop. Oh no far from it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the closest I'll ever come (heh) to writing smut, although we'll see :=)


	7. Somthing Rotten with Riverdale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra and Kara have a nice family moment yelling at the TV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written in protest over the CW's take on Archie. Takes place between Part Two and Part Three of What we are

******

"This is stupid" Kara spat out, spewing bits of popcorn everywhere as she scowled at the TV. Why she had decided to watch the CW's _Riverdale_ was beyond her, especially since it had been hailed by critics as a 'brooding, sexy, millennial drama' 

"Agreed" Astra murmured, wrist-deep in a party-sized bag of peanut M&M's, why Kara had decided to watch it with Astra was still a mystery, oh right, Alex wanted nothing to do it and plus it was time for Kara to play 'babysit the alien criminal', so, now Kara found herself sitting on Alex's couch with Astra taking advantage of Alex's big screen TV while Alex stayed late at the DEO

"There were no murders in _Archie,_ " Kara exclaimed, turning back to the TV "hell, there's no real crime in Riverdale"

"Not unless you consider Jughead's constant appetite as theft" Astra commented, Kara all but did a spit take with her popcorn. She turned to stare at Astra with wide eyes

" _You_ know Archie?" she asked, Astra nodded "I mean you actually _read_ it?" Kara asked, Astra smirked and stood up, disappearing into the bedroom and coming back holding a large box. Putting down on the coffee table she opened it and pulled out... _Archie's Double Digest_ , _Archie and Friends Double Digest_ , an entire stack of _Betty and Veronica_ , _Jughead's Double Digest_ and what looked like the whole series of _Life with Archie_ "I can't believe that you read Archie" Kara muttered, Astra shrugged

"Alex told me how much you liked them growing up," she began "so, I began to read them myself, to, I suppose, to gain an insight into all the years I missed with you," she explained "but, I soon found I liked them myself" Kara chuckled

"Just one question then," she said seriously, Astra nodded "Betty or Veronica?"

"Betty, of course," Astra scoffed "Veronica is vain, infantile and self-absorbed," Kara burst out laughing while Astra merely smirked and nodded towards the TV "shall we turn off this melodrama and return to a classic?" she asked, holding up a comic

Kara grinned

******

When Alex finally came home later than night she stopped at the sight that greeted her, Astra and Kara were curled on the couch, asleep, dozens of _Archie_ comics scattered around them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Archie FOREVER!!!


	8. In the Darkness, In the Night, You Can Always Find a Little Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after Part Four, warning, angst be here

******

Astra jerked awake with a gasp, her body tense, ready to fight or flee at any second, because the guards could be back, or worse, the other prisoners. In the darkness she could _see_ them, a guard in his armor, all identical, all designed to hide faces and even species from the prisoners, a nameless, faceless authority with complete control over the prisoners.

She started to shake, her breath coming in short, heavy pants, as sweat began to soak through her clothes. They were coming! Why wasn't she running?! Why wasn't she fighting?! She felt her heart pound harder, faster, her chest felt tight, she couldn't breathe! She suddenly wanted her mother, her sister, wanted someone to _take her away from here!!_

"Hey," a quiet, sleep-filled voice asked from behind her "Astra? You OK?" she stiffened as arms gently wrapped around her, ready to squeeze the life out of her no doubt, but no...this touch was soft, gentle, and that voice, oh, that soft, familiar voice

Alex

"Astra?" Alex questioned softly, sounding a bit more awake "you OK?" Astra frantically shook her head, not able to speak just yet, burying herself deeper into that wonderful soothing touch "nightmare?" Alex asked, Astra nodded "about Fort Rozz?" another nod "hey," gentle fingers began to comb through Astra's hair "you're all right now, honey," Alex whispered "you're safe now, he's not going to touch you ever again" and slowly, Astra felt her body relax, felt the tension and sheer _terror_ ease from her body

"Alex?" she finally murmured

"Yeah?"

"I...miss my mother" she whispered, she felt Alex press a soft kiss to her temple

"I know," Alex whispered "do you...want to talk about it?" she asked, Astra shook her head "all right," Alex breathed, they would have to talk about it someday, Astra knew, about all of it, about her parents, about Alura, everything, but not tonight "try to sleep," Alex suggested, even as Astra felt her eyes getting heavy again "don't worry," Alex's voice said distantly "I'll be here when you wake up"

Astra didn't dream of Fort Rozz again, for the rest of the night she dreamed only of Alex.


	9. House sitting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winn house sits for Alex and Astra and finds out a few surprising things about them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, after the angst last chapter, here's some more fluff, I know when I first posted this I said fluffy one-shots, but I can't resist doing a bit of hurt/comfort for our leading ladies, so now it's 'mostly fluff with some angst and hurt/comfort'. Takes place after Part Five

******

Winn had never house sat before. It just never came up, Kara had Alex to watch her apartment for whenever she went on vacation (which was never) and vice versa with Alex whenever she went on vacation (which was usually code for 'long assignment, I'm sorry, Winn I can't give you any details without having to kill you', he really hoped she'd been joking).

But this time was different, because Alex and Astra's assignment happened to line up perfectly with Kara and James' first trip away together as a couple (they were going up to the mountains, apparently there was a very nice little town up there that was perfect for couples who wanted to get away from it all), what this actually meant was that, for once, Kara would not be around to house sit for Alex and vice versa (it also meant that Supergirl would be MIA for a while, but that isn't the point of this tale).

Which left both Danvers sisters in something of a pickle, Lucy had volunteered to watch both Kara and James' places, but that meant that no one would be able to watch Alex and Astra's place, which is where Winn came in. During game night (sometime around his fourth bag of chips and twelfth soda) he'd offered up the--now seemingly crazy--idea of house sitting to Astra, which she had enthusiastically agreed to, declaring it to be a 'perfect idea' (the next day Winn wondered just what she had been smoking), but either way, two days later he found himself in the middle of their apartment being given a list of things to do while they gone, it was pretty straightforward stuff, water the plants, open the windows, collect the mail (they didn't know how long they'd be gone and the post office needed a specific time frame to hold their mail apparently), feed the cat (when did they get a cat?)

Once they were both out the door with two calls of 'thank you, Winn, we really appreciate this', he'd been left all alone with a rather, grumpy-looking, scarred black cat who was missing an eye who had apparently wandered in through an open window one day and had decided to stay (which, combined with the missing eye, had caused Alex to start calling her 'bandit' and it stuck) and he suddenly realized that this was a golden opportunity

For snooping

Now, of course he was a good guy, he didn't _plan_ on snooping, it had just _happened_ , looking around in Alex's sock drawer (Astra's was empty of even socks) for a spare phone charger for example he had unearthed a whole stash of trashy lesbian romance novels (of course maybe he was just _assuming_ that they were trashy, after all, for all he knew ' _The Pirate Queen's Kiss'_ might have been the height of modern LGBT literature, he doubted it, but hey, he didn't know), he also found Astra's stash of _Archies_ in a box under the bed, but that wasn't all that surprising, he knew Kara had own stash and even he had his own stash of _Betty and Veronicas_ safely tucked away in a drawer.

But these two discoveries had peaked his interest, what else could they be hiding? Collecting the mail had revealed that Alex had a subscription to _Highlights for kids_ , which was...shocking to say the least, Astra, by contrast, had a subscription to _National Geographic_ (honestly, out of the two of them, she was turning out to be very boring). After skimming through both _Highlights_ and _National Geographic_ Winn found himself starting to enjoy this little gig

The next few days or weeks were going to be very interesting...


	10. Terrorizing the Snoop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follow up to 'House sitting', where Alex and Astra confront Winn about his snooping

******

“I didn’t mean to!” Winn yelped, backing away from the two women in front of him “it just happened!”

“Oh, I see,” Alex exclaimed, rolling her eyes “‘it just happened’, well that’s fine, that’s OK”

“Look, I mean it,” Winn insisted, backing into the door and holding up his hands “and I understand if you guys never want me to house sit for you ever again, _but_ I am really, truly, totally sorry”

“Alex,” Astra sighed, she gently gripped Alex’s shoulder “it was a lapse in judgment, and you know that Winn would never deliberately look through our personal effects”

“Exactly! What she said!”

“…I’m certain that no real harm was done,” Astra glanced up at him “correct?” Winn nodded emphatically

“I guess,” Alex finally allowed “but how can we be sure this won’t happen again?”

“Feat,” Astra said simply “he knows that both of us could quite easily inure him without lifting a finger”

“Hey, OK!” Winn sucked in a nervous breath “I get it! I get it! No more snooping ever again, I swear”

“Good,” Alex finally growled out “because if I ever find out that you did it again, I will make you regret it”

“Come on,” Kara spoke up, having been silent throughout a majority of the exchange (mostly out fear of what her aunt and sister were going to _do_ to Winn) “Alex, I think he’s scared enough” she gently gripped Alex’s shoulders and steered her away. Now alone with Astra (which was nowhere as safe as it sounded on paper) Winn chanced a look up at her, she didn’t look…mad, if fact she looked like she found the whole thing funny

“How many romance novels did you find?” she asked finally

“Uh, wha?”

“How many romance novels did you find?” she repeated "in Alex's drawer?"

“Oh, uh, six” she scowled

“Damn,” she muttered as she stalked off “now I owe Kara twenty dollars”


	11. Harlequin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex's secret love affair with trashy romance novels isn't as secret as she thinks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place before "House sitting" and "Terrorizing the Snoop"

******

Alex liked reading. It was one of the byproducts of having two scientists for parents, there were always books around the house growing up, some were big, heavy things filled with words she didn't quite understand as a child, and others were fun and silly little things that were prefect for kids (or in Kara's case) aliens to read. As she grew older, her tastes in books changed, she couldn't quite remember when she first picked up one of those trashy romance novels, probably during her helter-skelter collage days, and well. she was hooked, the trashier the better, the worse the dialogue was, the worse the plot, the more she read

She wasn't really sure _why_ , because she knew, logically, that most of the books were poorly written, had melodramatic characters doing things melodramatically, but it was like train wreck syndrome, she couldn't look away, she _**needed**_ to see what happened next. Now, of course, she hid the books away, kept them secret, because if anyone found out, especially Kara...well, it'd be disaster...

******

Astra liked reading, it was the one thing that she and Alura had shared as children, a love of stories, even now Astra had fond memories of their mothers sitting down with them and weaving fantastic tales. Now here on Earth, Astra eagerly devoured the literature available, an endeavor that Kara and Winn were more than happy to help her with, Kara had given her all of the _Harry Potter_ books, declaring that they were the' best ever', Winn had given her his worn copies of _Lord of the Rings_ , also declaring that they were the best ever (there seemed to be a conflict of interest there), and once she'd read through them both she wanted _more_. It while rifling through Alex's shelves, looking for something to read that she found IT.

IT was a very worn, obviously well-read, paperback novel with a rather...interesting illustration on the cover, two women--one in a long flowing coat and a large hat with a feather, the other in a long flowing dress--both intertwined in a passionate embrace, the cover proclaimed the book to be ' _The Pirate Queen's Kiss'_ , with subtitle of 'Lesbian Romance and Passion in the Age of Sail!'. Curious as to why the book had been hidden away behind two rather dusty medical tomes, Astra had gone to Alex, and had simply held up the book

"What is this?" she asked, Alex's reaction was...different, to say the least

"It's nothing!" she said quickly, snatching the book away "where did you find this?" she demanded, confused, Astra pointed behind her to the bookcase in question

"Over there, stuck behind your copies of _Grey's Anatomy_ and _Microbiology for Beginners_ " she explained

"Oh," Alex said, more calmly "yeah, well, it's Kara's, she must've left here a while back" she explained and Astra suddenly realized that Alex was lying, quite well, but still lying

"Well, then," she began "if it is hers I'll return it"

"No!" Alex yelped "I mean, don't bother, I'll give back to her next time I see her" Astra nodded, and once Alex had left to go pick up dinner, had called Kara

" _Hi Aunt Astra!_ "

"Hello, Kara," Astra smiled "I have a question"

" _Sure_ "

"I found a book here in the apartment, it was titled _The Pirate Queen's Kiss_ , and Al...Kara, why are you laughing?"

" _I'm sorry, I'm sorry!_ " Kara wheezed over the phone, she cleared her throat " _let me guess, you told Alex about it and she lied and said that it was mine or something?_ "

"Yes, should I be concerned?"

" _You should, but not for the reason you think _"__

"What?" Kara sighed

" _The book belongs to Alex, it's hers, she's just embarrassed that she reads those kind of things" she explained, Astra could feel a headache coming on_

"Why would she be embarrassed? Is the book controversial in some way?"

" _No...it's just,_ " Kara sighed " _talk to Lucy about it_ " now feeling more confused, Astra had agreed to do just that, said goodbye to Kara, and called Winn, asked him for Lucy's number (they seemed to be hanging out a lot lately, even though he was supposedly dating Siobhan Smythe) and then called Lucy, who explained everything in very easy to understand language.

As it turned out, almost everyone who knew Alex (except for Winn) knew about her love affair for these so-called 'novels', even J'onn and Agent Vasquez knew, the only person who didn't know was Alex herself, who thought that her secret was safe. So, when more novels turned up in the oddest of places in the apartment (even in a plastic bag in the tank of the toilet), Astra didn't question it and just left it wherever she found it

And called Kara to see if she lost the bet or not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No offense to any fans/writers of romance novels


	12. The Bet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Kara and Astra's bet on Alex's trashy romance novels

******

"How many did you find this time?" Kara asked as Astra sat down across from her and Winn at Noonan's

"Four," Astra replied "two in the cabinet under the sink, and two under the couch" Kara shook her head

"The couch doesn't count" she said

"Since when?"

"She could've just dropped them, doesn't count" Astra scowled

"Fine, then you can just give me ten dollars and we'll call it even," she declared "how many did _you_ find?"

"Only one, in her locker at the DEO"

"Oh, so _that_ counts but the two I found under the couch don't?"

"What are you two doing anyway?" Winn asked, looking up from his laptop

"Oh, we're betting on Alex's thing for trashy romance novels" Kara explained, Winn looked up, giving them his full attention

"How's that work?" he asked

"Well, basically," Kara began "which ever one of us finds the most new books in the strangest of places wins," she explained "but, they have to be new books, old ones in a different place don't count"

"Like in the tank of the toilet" Astra pitched in, while cramming a whole doughnut in her mouth

"Yeah...," Kara began "that one takes the prize so far"

"Wouldn't it get, you know...soggy?" Winn wondered

"Oh, no, it was in a plastic bag," Astra told him around a mouthful of doughnut "which is so utterly _bizarre_ ," she added after swallowing "you keep a weapon hidden there, you keep illicit substances there, not books" both Winn and Kara stared at her

"Why...," Kara began "do I get the feeling that you keep something hidden in there too, Aunt Astra?"

"Because I keep a loaded gun in there"

"Why?" Winn wondered

"You can never be too careful, Winn" was her matter-a-fact response, as if everyone kept a loaded gun in the tank of their toilet. Obviously

"O...K," Winn shook his head "so, anyway, can I get in on this bet?"

"Well, did you find any new books in strange places in the apartment?" Astra wondered

"I haven't been in your apartment since that housing sitting thing. Which I'm very sorry for, I said I'm sorry, right?"

"Yes. Repeatedly," Astra drawled "all right, one of those six books you found was new, so I'll give you...five dollars, but that's only because I already gave Kara the other fifteen"

"Hey, cool!" Winn grinned as Astra handed him a five dollar bill

"Hey, guys!" the trio looked up

"Oh, hi Alex!" they choursed

"What's up with you three?" Alex wondered

"Nothing in particular, love," Astra answered smoothly "yourself?" Alex grinned

"I finally got those concert tickets," she triumphantly held up two tickets "hello, Florence + the Machine"

"Yes!" Astra happily snatched one from her, grinning madly

"Come on, we'd better get ready," Alex said "we are _not_ paying for drinks, we're sneaking food in"

"Considering my appetite on this planet that might very well be prudent" Astra agreed standing up and walking out with Alex, waving good bye to Kara and Winn as she did

"So," Winn leaned in towards Kara "did you see the book sticking out of Alex's jacket?"

"What!? No!" Kara groaned "what was it called?" she sighed

" _The...Rose and the Lilly_ , I think"

"That's...," Kara dug around in her bag, pulled out a sheet of paper, scanned it, and then stuffed it back into her bag with a scowl "a new one" she sighed, while Winn grinned

"Come on, Danvers, pay up"

"I hate you sometimes" Kara muttered as she counted two fives and five ones and shoved them at him


	13. Rock On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra's discovery of Earth music

******

When Astra first landed on Earth, she and the other prisoners had tried to immerse themselves in Earth culture (if anything to try and fit in to avoid attracting attention), but while the other prisoners were more-or-less capable at playing at being human, most of them cared little for human culture

Astra was, by contrast, fascinated by it. The films (she could see why _Citizen Kane_ had won an Academy Award, as had _The Day the Earth Stood Still_ ), the art (van Gogh was a particular favorite), the literature ( _Jane Eyre_ was still her favorite), and the music. Earth music, both popular and traditional, was unlike anything she'd ever encountered in her travels, from the masterminds of Classical, like Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and Bache, the more contemporary artists, like Elvis (the early stuff, before his Vegas years), Janis Joplin, Joan Jet (most of her preferred artists were women). But, her favorite above all was, by far, Florence + the Machine.

Once she had defected to the humans side and began to fight _against_ Fort Rozz for Alex (a decision she had no regrets about), she found she was free to indulge in her passions

******

"What are you listening to?" Alex wondered, staring at Astra, who sat on the couch, earbuds from her iPod (thank you, Winn, that's just what Astra needed, more clutter, as if the doezens of books scattered around the apartment weren't bad enough) stuffed in her ears, nodding her head to the beat "Astra!" the Kryptonian jumped, bolting off the couch onto the floor in a defensive crouch "whoa! Whoa! It's only me!" Alex yelped, Astra sighed as she slowly relaxed and stood up, taking the earbuds out

"Did you want something, or is scaring me half to death a new form of foreplay I wasn't aware of?" she wondered, Alex rolled her eyes and just barely resisted the urge to mutter 'drama queen' by a very slim margin. Instead, she pointed to the iPod

"What are you listening to?" she repeated

"Oh," Astra held out an earbud "here" Alex frowned and put the earbud in

" _...holy water cannot help you now, a thousand armies couldn't keep me out,_ " a woman sang, pulling the eabud out, Alex frowned up at Astra

"She's good, got great voice, who is she?"

"Florence Welch," Astra explained "better known as 'Florence and the Machine'."

"Never heard of them"

"Hmm," Astra put the other earbud back in "she's one of my favorites" Alex looked up, intrigued, and as Astra wen back to listening, Alex pulled oit her phone and looked up Florence + the Machine


	14. Fright Fest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex has fun trying to scare Astra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I myself don't really find practical jokes funny, so I'll be siding with Astra in this one

******

Scaring Astra was fun.

Alex didn't really mean to start scaring her, but it happened, sometimes the other woman would just get so engrossed into whatever she was doing that, super senses or not, military training or not, Alex could sneak up on her. The first time had been when she found out about Astra's love of Florence + the Machine, seeing Astra bolt off the couch like a startled cat was hysterical, the second time had been when she was reading Stephen King's _Misery_ , Alex had spider walked her fingers up Astra's arm trying to get her attention (because she was lonely and, yes, a little horny), the resulting shriek and the image of Astra floating near the ceiling cursing in Kryptonese was just too funny, but now that she knew that she _could_ sneak up on Astra, Alex was determined to see how far she could take it

For scientific curiosity of course.

The next time, she tried to deliberately sneak up on Astra in the shower, which had been a mistake, because Astra had whirled around and pinned her to the wall, one arm pressed into her throat, ready to either choke her out or kiss her (Alex was never really sure, violence and foreplay seemed to go hand in hand with them), once she had explained what she was trying to do (and Astra had agreed to NOT dangle her off the roof), the hurt expression on Astra's face had made her feel like the biggest asshole on the planet, so she had apologized profusely, and ordered a pizza with the works on it as part of the apology, vowing to never try to deliberately scare Astra again 

At least for a while anyway


	15. Alura, the cat, and the couch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alura wakes up from a nap to a surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, this chapter takes place after Part Nine but _before_ Part Ten, i'm going on the idea that about a week passted between both parts, hope that makes sense

******

Alura found she was adjusting to life on Earth fairly well, granted she wasn't allowed to leave the apartment that Astra and Alex shared unless it was to go to Kara's apartment or the DEO ( a arraingment similar to what Astra had agreed to when she had surrended to the DEO, minus the tracking anklet), and while being cooped up in the apartment her sister and her betrothed shared was difficult at times, she found she was enjoying it, although Alex still didn't appriceate Alura wondering in during their love-making sessions, somethign that Alura could not comprehend, she and Astra were family, this had been perfectly acceptable on Krypton.

But right now, Alura was trying not to panic, in fact she was trying to remain as perfectly still as possilbe, because _the animal_ was lying right on top of her chest, Alex had called it a 'cat', and apparnetly it was a common domestic pet on Earth, apparnetly Astra had forgoten to mention to her beloved that it bore a frightening similarity to a deadly prediator on Krypton, even now, the way the creature was watching her made Alura cringe, its missing eye making it all the more frightening as it's remaining pale green eye stared at her

"What are you doing?" Aliura glanced to her side, seeing Astra frowning at her as she walked into the room

"Astra, help me," she pleaded, she glanced back at the creature "what does it _want_?" she whispered

"Most likly food" Astra shrugged

"Would you kindly tell it that _i_ am not a meal" Alura hissed, Astra blinked, staring at her in cofusion as the creautre suddenly began virbrating "what is it doing?" Alura demanded, Astra's frowned deepened and then she burst out laughing "this isn't funny, Astra!!!" Alura snarled "this creature looks exactly like a ' _Hak'a'n'_ " she exclaimed, which made Astra laugh even harder, actualy collapsing agaisnt the arm of the couch gasping and wheezing for breath

"Oh, stop! It hurts!!" she howled

"Astra!!"

"It's not real!!!" Astra howled

"What?!" Alura demanded

"The, the 'Hak'a'n', I made, i made it up, it's not real!!!" Astra finaly fell the floor, howling madly

"WHAT!!!" Alura bolted upright, dislodging the animal with a sharp yowl, she leaned over the arm of the couch and glared at her sister "do you mean to tell me that i've been frightened half to death over nothing?" she demanded, Astra giggled as she stared up at her

"You mean to tell _me_ that for nearly forty years you thought that it was real?" she asked as she burst into anothe fit of hysterics

"Unbelieveable" Alura scowled, she grabbed the pillow from beneath her head and threw it at Astra


	16. HR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Astra and Alex have to fill out forms in triplicate because their relationship is now public

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place between Parts Nine and Ten

******

"Sign here," Alex and Astra both sighed as yet _another_ form was presented "initial here," Pam tapped the dotted line "and date here"

"Why are we doing this again?" Alex wondered

"Government regs, Danvers," Pam answered "you're engaged to a co-worker, alien or not, I still got to follow federal guidelines"

"Wonderful," Astra snarled as she scrawled her name in English on the dotted line "I'll be sure to advise your government that I am following all guidelines and regulations the next time an race of would be conquers invade, I'm certain our soon-to-be overlords will appreciate it"

"She always like this?" Pam wondered

"Usually," Alex shrugged "it changes depending, she can be downright _peppy_ in months that began with 'R'," she explained as she finally, _finally_ finished the last form "oh thank god!" she groaned

"Agreed" Astra spat, shoving the clipboard back towards Pam with more force than strictly necessary

"See you soon!" Pam called out as they turned to leave

"Not on your life" Alex muttered as they almost bumped into Winn and Lucy

"What are you two doing here?" Astra asked

"Oh, uh, well," Winn began "uh, since we're, you know, dating, uh, apparently we have to fill out some forms for HR?"

"I didn't even know the DEO _had_ an HR department," Lucy exclaimed "I figured that was just handled by the DoD"

"Nope," Alex shook her head "don't worry it'll be fine" she lied

"Although you may have to attend a mandatory sexual harassment seminar" Astra added, her face pulled into a downright crazy grin

"Are you OK?" Alex wondered

"Not in the least"

"Next!" Pam called out "Schott and Lane?"

"Good luck" Alex called out as Lucy and Winn walked inside the office, looking like two people who were being lead to the executioner's block

"You'll need it" Astra muttered


	17. The Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or how Alex and Astra ended up owning a cat

******

Alex had been raised by two animal lovers, growing up she'd had the usual assortment of pets, ranging from dogs, to cats, guinea pigs, gerbils, hamsters, goldfish, etc. Dogs had always been her favorite, some of her earliest memories were of Jeremiah's old Golden Retriever named 'Bossley', who used to lay under the dinning table acting as a furry foot warmer and whom Alex used to use as a pillow as a child.

Eliza, by contrast, had had a cat (although Eliza had nothing against dogs, she just preferred cats), Eliza's cat was a vicious, cranky, downright _nasty_ old thing named 'Pumpkin' who seemed to live to make everyone else in the house suffer, even Kara who was scratch-proof and the only person who the cat even halfway tolerated. Even back then as a child, Alex vowed that if she ever got a pet on her own, she'd get a dog...

******

"What is that?" Alex asked

"I believe it's a cat" Astra answered

"OK, why is it in the apartment?"

"I assumed the animal belonged to you?" Astra frowned

"Astra, do you _see_ any cat-related stuff in here?"

"I've never taken care of a cat so I couldn't tell you"

"You know that 'alien innocence' thing is only going to get you so far," Alex scowled at the large, black cat as it planted itself on the couch, its one eye glaring out at her, as if daring her to try and retake the couch from it "how did it even get in here?"

"That's my fault, I left the window open," Astra--being bulletproof and claw-proof--reached out and lightly scratched the cat behind the ears, the cat obediently purred and rolled over onto its back "she seems friendly enough" Astra noted

"She?"

"See for yourself"

"Oh. Did you have cats on Krypton?"

"No, but we did have dogs oddly enough

"Really?"

"Yes"

"Huh," Alex frowned at the cat "she's looks pretty healthy," she reached for the cat "come on, honey, let's--"

"RRROWWLLL"

"OW! Damn it!" Alex yanked her hand away, glowering at the four red scratches on her arm "OK, I want that thing gone!!!"

"Certainly" Astra promptly picked up the car (very gently) and (again very gently) deposited it out onto the fire escape, shutting the window once she was done

******

The cat came back that night, and the night after that, and the night after that. Finally, in the middle of a big rainstorm Alex woke up in the middle of the night to hear the animal's pitiful yowling outside

"Oh, god...," she shrugged off the covers and marched into the living room, yanking the window open "well, come on, get in here" she ordered, the cat slunk inside, shook itself off (right up against Alex's leg) and the plopped down on the area rug in the middle of the room and began grooming itself

"Whatisit?" Astra asked as Alex crawled back into bed

"Nothing, we have a cat now" Alex grumbled

"Oh, that's nice, love" Astra mumbled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually a dog person, personally, so I hope I got a cat's personality down right


	18. Marks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex muses on both her and Astra's scars

******

Alex has a scar on her right arm

Her first of many, it had happened when Kara had pulled a mother and her baby from a car crash about a week after she arrived on Earth. The scar is long and white, traveling up her arm from her wrist to just below her elbow. She has another scar on her waist near her hip, she got that one from a drunken frat boy who took a swing at her with a broken beer bottle in collage. Her other scars she got once she joined the DEO.

There's the round one on her upper thigh from the Hellgermite's barb (that one makes her smile now whenever she sees it, because it reminds her of Astra), there's a long one on her back from a Trog'val's claws, and a bite mark on her left shoulder from the same alien.

Astra has scars as well, some so small as to almost be invisible, some so large as to defy belief. There's one on the back of her neck that looks frighteningly like a blade, like someone had actually tried to chop her head off at one point, another, rougher, sandpaper-like scar that runs down her ribs on one side, that one she got being dragged behind a vehicle on the desert planet of Strad, where the pink-purple sand had torn her uniform, and skin, to shreds.

Her back is littered with crisscrossing lines, deep gashes that Alex is still surprised that they had healed, they look like she'd been whipped, and when asked, all Astra will say is they're a _'gift from Fort Rozz'_.

She doesn't need to say anything more than that.

Astra has other scars, ones that have happier stories, the one on her foot, that looks like a smiley face she got when she stepped on a coral reef as a child, she had screamed so loudly she says that Alura had come running and had actually carried her back to shore in a panic, rushing Astra home to their mothers, and later--once the injury was healed--had held her close and apologized for not watching her.

But Astra has other marks, her right arm, from shoulder to wrist, has a long flowing tattoo, made of shimmering colors that would never be found on Earth, it spirals down her arm like a double helix, depicting some ancient Kryptonian beast of legend, she also has a navel piercing, a small jewel that, like the tattoo, glints and shimmers in unearthly colors

They both have scars and marks, each of which is only one part of them, each of which tells only part of the true story that makes up who they are


	19. A Nice Day In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex and Astra spend a nice day in bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With special guest appearance by Kara 'adorkable' Danvers

******

"Hmm, this is nice"

"It is. We should do this more often"

"Astra?"

"Yes, love?"

"Shouldn't we, I don't know, get up at some point?"

"Why bother? We're off-duty and it's the weekend"

"Yeah, but, you're a solider, shouldn't there be a little man playing a bugle in your head right about now?"

"Sometimes you say the strangest things. But, yes, we probably should get up at some point, or, at the very least, get dressed"

"Why bother? It's just the two of us here, three if you count that stupid cat"

"Hello! Guys? You in here?"

"Oh god, she has the worst timing!"

"Yes, my niece was always terrible at that, she was late for _everything_ as a child. Even her own birth, she was born a hour after the doctors predicted she would be"

"Guys? You two decent in there?"

"No!"

"Oh, Alex, just let her in, she won't leave if you don't, you know that"

"Oh for...fine! Come on in, Kara"

"Hey, guys! Uh...am I...Interrupting something?"

"Yes, a very important discussion"

"Pay no attention to her, little one. We were just discussing whether or not to get up today"

"Oh, sounds heavy"

"Oof! Kara! Get off me you dork!!"

"Alex, don't insult your sister, and Kara don't tickle her"

"Why not? It's fun!"

"Kara!! I'm going to kill you, I swear, Kara?...Is she...she's asleep"

"Hmm, so she is"

"Who the hell wakes up, gets dressed, goes all the way to their sister's apartment, crawls into bed with them and then falls asleep?!"

"She does apparently"

"Well, great, now I _have_ to get up"

"Why?"

"Because your niece's elbow is in my bladder! Kara....get....off!!"

"Alex! Geez, you could've just _asked_ me, you didn't have to _throw_ me off the bed!"

"Yeah, yeah"

"Oh, geez! Alex! Put some clothes on! I don't need to see what my sister looks like naked!"

"Would you rather see what I look like naked, little one?"

"Aunt Astra! NO! Oh god no...just....NO!! OK, OK, I can take a hint, I'm going, geez!"


	20. The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex comes home to something unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place between Parts Nine and Ten

******

Alex had expected to find weird things going on in her apartment ever since Astra had moved in, so she was fully prepared for Alura to do those same weird things. So, when Alura waltzed in on them during a morning love making session and began to discus something with Astra, Alex took it in stride, she figured since she'd survived that, nothing that Alura or Astra did could faze her now

She was wrong

Because right now she was holding her breath as she carefully tip-toed inside the apartment, watching Alura and Astra. This just could _not_ be happening, it had to be a dream, or a hallucination, but nope, there they were

 _"I'm doin' all right_  
_Gettin' good grades_  
_The future's so bright_  
_I gotta wear shades"_

The twins sang out, both of them actually dancing (Alura a bit more stiffly than Astra) along to the song

Oh, this was _gold_. Slowly, Alex pulled her phone out of her pocket and started to film, once the twins had gotten to the fourth verse, she hit save and then e-mailed it to Kara, Lucy, Winn, and just for fun, J'onn. But that would prove to be her downfall, as Astra's head whipped towards her as her phoned _beeped_ in response

"Alex!" Alex dove, zigzagging and diving under the dinning table action-hero-style "GIVE ME THAT PHONE!!!" Astra roared, stomping after her

Oh, well, it was worth it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrics from "The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades" by Tumbk3


	21. The Major and the Nerd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or how Lucy and Winn got together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Lucy/Winn moment, missing scene(s) from Parts Six and Seven

******

Winn wasn't quite sure when it happened. Maybe it was after that whole mess with Siobhan and Livewire, when Lucy dropped by the hospital with the biggest bouquet he'd ever seen and they spent the rest of the evening (until she was finally ordered out by the nurses because visiting hours were over) talking about everything and nothing.

Or maybe it was even earlier than that, right around the time she found out about Kara's secret, because that's when they started hanging out, right about when Rudy Jones appeared and Alex and Astra played matchmaker with Kara and James, yeah that could've been it, because it was about that time that he started 'dating' Siobhan and Lucy was the first person he told (after all he couldn't tell Astra because then she might tell Kara).

Lucy was also the first (of many) to tell him to drop Siobhan like a ton of bricks because she was just using him. But, like the idiot he was, he let his _other head_ do the thinking for him and honestly believed that there was some _good_ in Siobhan (there might have been at one point, up until she wrote that letter to Cat Grant pretending to be Kara, and then the whole Silver Banshee bit), and it was Lucy to helped him through Kara's whole red kryptonite mess, while Astra and Alex took comfort in each other and James gave Kara the support she needed after she had been cured, Lucy was the one who helped Winn through it, who reminded him that Kara was still his friend and all the things she said or did over that past few days had been the kryptonite talking.

And, yeah, maybe he'd been a little drunk, but the next he knew he was kissing her, she didn't seem upset, just surprised, which was better than her breaking him in half like a twig, and one thing led to another and they were....not dating, really, but it was more than the frantic, slightly shame-filled sex he been having with Siobhan, and even the sex was different, Winn could never remember Siobhan actually _laughing_ with joy during an orgasm and then, while they lay in bed together, telling him that he was just fun to be around

But Lucy would spend time with him beyond just sex (unlike Siobhan who would schedule meetings with him like some woman who was cheating on her husband, looking back on it, Winn was surprised she didn't ask him to meet her at some seedy motel under a fake name).

When Astra wasn't available to play video games there was Lucy who happily kicked his ass at _Halo_ , and even after J'onn had been exposed as an alien and Lucy's commission had been reactivated and she suddenly had secrets she still tried to make time for him. In fact on the night that Astra and J'onn had been shipped off to Cadmus, the very same night that the real Hank Henshaw had captured Alex and used her as a puppet to try and kill Astra, Lucy had been sitting on his couch, wearing one of his shirts, and kicking his ass at _Halo_ , because even though the sex had been wrapped up at least an hour ago, she stayed, she actually _asked_ to stay, not really saying why, but insisting anyways.

Of course when something knocked on his window (which meant that it was probably Kara) he'd hustled her off into the bedroom, because he didn't want a lecture from Kara, of course it wasn't just Kara, and Astra had called him out on this whole _THING_ with Lucy and he felt a little bad for calling her out on the fact that they hadn't gone on a 'real' date since this whole _THING_ got started (of course, now that he looks back on it, they had been dating all along)

And after the whole mess with Henshaw, and then Myriad and Astra almost dying, and Kara's mother being still alive, Lucy was still there, right by his side

So, in the end, was it love? Definitely, it wasn't like what Kara and James had, and nowhere near what like Alex and Astra had, but it was definitely love


	22. Speaking "Winn"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Astra's really a giant nerd in a general's uniform

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the geeky, nerdy Winn/Lyra scene in the recent episode. Takes place between Parts Nine and Ten

******

James stared, it was like train wreck syndrome, he just _couldn't_ look away. He'd been sitting at a table at the alien bar for a least fifteen minutes, virtually trapped while Kara and Alex got drinks, Lucy cleaned several patrons out of their money at the pool table, and Alura spoke with J'onn off in a corner

"I suppose the film adaptation of _Dune_ was adequate for its time," Astra continued "as was the miniseries, but, my only complaint about any and all versions was--"

"...the sandworms" Winn finished

"Exactly," Astra exclaimed "what? We're supposed to believe its that _easy_ to not only tame one of those beasts but to ride one as well?"

"There was some good points, though" Winn pointed out, Astra grinned

"The Bene Gesserit" they both chorused

"Yes," Astra agreed "exactly, powerful women who can not only control people simply by speaking but are also clairvoyant? Oh, yes"

James couldn't take it anymore

"Astra," he began, she looked up, looking somewhat startled, great, they didn't even remember he was there "uh, how many languages do you speak?" he asked

"I'm not sure, about a dozen or so. Why?" she replied

"Well, I'm just amazed that you speak Winn" he chuckled

"Oh, god, tell me about it," Lucy sat down with a sigh, giving Winn a quick peek on the cheek as she did "but, hey, at least it spares me the trouble of having to listen to him" she added, counting out her winnings

"Hey!" Winn protested

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never read/seen Dune so I apologize if I got anything wrong


	23. Shippers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Kara (and a very reluctant James) discuss ship names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Karaolsen moment, takes place after Part Five but can be put anywhere else in there series aside from that

******

James sighed and readjusted the pillow under his head, idly reaching down and running his fingers through Kara's hair. It was one of those rare peaceful moments, no attacking aliens, no crime sprees, Alex and Astra didn't need help at the DEO, Kara herself had her head pillowed in his lap as she took what she called a 'sun nap', just lying there, dozing as she soaked up the sun

Perfect

"Hey what do you think of ship names?" Kara asked suddenly

"What do you mean?" James asked, confused "you mean like _Titanic_?"

"No, no, 'ship' names," explained as she grunted and wriggled to get up and James had chuckle, because for a woman could catch bullets and fly, Kara could also be one of the most klutzy and uncoordinated people on Earth "you know like 'Brangelina' or 'Bennifer'," she added "those kinds of ships"

"Oh, _those_ kinds of ships," James chuckled "what about them?"

"Well like take us, right? What would our ship name be? 'Karamaes'? 'Danolsen'? Or we could use my Kryptonian name in which case it'd be 'Zorlsen' or 'Elsen', and what about Aunt Astra and Alex? 'Astalex'? 'Alestra'? 'Daninze'? Or, ooh 'General Danvers'! And what about Winn and Lucy? 'Winlane'? 'Lucinn'?"

As Kara kept babbling, James kept nodding

And made a mental note to call Alex later


	24. Shipping with Major Nerd and General Danvers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Kara starts ruining everybody else's lazy day in with her obsession over ship names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow up to "Shippers"

******

"OK, I just got the weirdest text from Kara" Winn said, behind him, happily spooned up against him under the covers on a lazy Saturday morning in, Lucy snorted

"Kara sends you a lot of weird texts, be more specific" she said

"Uh, 'what do u guys think of ur own ship name?'," he read "ship name? Did I miss something? Are we in the navy all of a sudden?"

"No idea," Lucy mumbled "text her back, ask what she means"

"OK...and done," Winn dumped the phone on the nightstand "now, I'm going back to bed"

"Hmm," Lucy chuckled as her fingers began to walk up his arm "you could...or, we could...have some fun"

"I can do fun" Winn replied, rolling over to face her

" _Message from Kara_ " his phone chirped

"Ignore it" Lucy breathed against his lips

" _Message from Kara,_ " the phone chirped again " _message from Kara_ "

"Ignore it" Lucy sang out as her hands began do to _things_

" _Call from Kara_ "

"OH MY GOD, I"M GOING TO KILL HER!!!!" Lucy roared, she threw back the covers and stormed into the bathroom

"Hey, what about me?" Winn called out at the door slammed "thanks a lot Kara" he muttered darkly

******

"I just received a very cryptic text from Winn" Astra said

"Yeah, me too," Alex said "is he warning you not to take any of Kara's calls or answer any of her texts?"

"Yes. Should we be worried?"

"No, it's probably just Kara and her latest obsession," Alex sighed "remember last month and gardening?" Astra shuddered

"Vividly"


	25. Beach Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex and Astra spend some time at the beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time!!

******

Alex never really thought much about going to the beach, probably because she’d grown up on it, if she wanted to go, she’d just step outside her front door and voile, beach. It wasn’t until years later that she gave it any thought

******

“Have you ever been to the beach?” Alex asked, Astra frowned, looking up from her book

“What do you mean?” she asked

“I mean the beach. Here. On Earth” Alex explained

“No”

“Do you want to?”

“Do _you_ want to?”

“I’m serious, Astra”

“As am I” Alex groaned

“I mean,” she began “it’s a nice day, we don’t have to go into the DEO, so…let’s go to the beach,” she gestured to the windows “I mean its practically right there!”

“All right” Alex felt herself grin

“Great! Oh, wait, you don’t have a swimsuit, do you?”

“No,” Astra frowned “is that required?” she asked

“Sorta, I mean if you want to go into the water at least”

“Why can I not simply wear this?” Astra gestured to the t-shirt and shorts she was currently wearing, they were both old things that Alex had loaned her (read, Astra stole them of out the closet)

“Actually,” Alex frowned at the clothes, they were old and worn, but still acceptable to be worn in public, especially at the beach “that’ll do,” she declared “let me just pack some food and then we’ll go”

******

The drive to the beach only took a few minutes—even though they had enough food for four people—but they took an extra fifteen or some minutes to find a more secluded area, somewhere Astra wouldn’t be overwhelmed by all the hustle and bustle and assorted commotion that came with crowds at the beach

“Here we are,” Alex pulled the car into a parking space above a small, secluded cove, she could hear and see a few people off in the distance, but they were otherwise alone “come on” she unpacked the cooler and set up the two towels be dragging Astra by the hand towards the water, only to suddenly stop as a though occurred to her “can you swim?” she wondered

“I can,” Astra nodded “I was actually the champion of my unit’s swim team when I was still a corporal in the Military Guild” she explained

“Good,” Alex grabbed her arm began to pull again, wading into the water up to their knees “oh, geez! I forgot how cold the water was!” she yelped as ice-cold Pacific water rushed up to her knees “how are doing?” she frowned, looking up as Astra tilting her head back, eyes closed, as the water rushed across her skin and the breeze blew through her hair

“The last time I went to the beach,” she began suddenly “I was six. I stepped on a piece of coral and cut myself. I screamed so loud that Alura came running into the water and scooped me up. She carried me back to our mothers, crying that I’d been hurt”

“The scar on your foot” Alex realized, Astra nodded, eyes still closed

“After the wound had been healed, we sat together on the sand. She held me close, still crying because she hadn’t been watching me. I told her it was all right, that I didn’t need her to watch me,” she finally opened her eyes and turned to look at Alex “it’s strange, I never went back to beach since then” she murmured

“Well, now you are,” Alex said “so what do you want to do first?” she asked, Astra frowned

“Hmm…this” she suddenly scooped Alex up and threw her into the water. Alex surged up, coughing and spluttering

“THAT’S IT!!!” she roared “YOU’RE DEAD!!!” laughing she charged after Astra


	26. Falling Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or after curing Kara of the red kryptonite, Astra gets a minor dose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, I know I haven't actually done an AU of "Falling" and we probably won't see it here, but what we might see are little snippets like this

******

Alex watched as Astra paced around the inside of the kryptonite cell. She looked like a caged animal

"Enjoying the show?" she spat

"No. Not really" Alex answered, worried as to what Max's synthetic version of kryptonite would do to Astra, granted she got a much smaller dose than Kara did, but still

"You don't understand do you?" Astra hissed "I _hate_ this planet," she snarled "the light is always too bright, the air is always too hot, and the _smell_! You, all of you, the whole _six billion_ of your kind _stink_!! And you don't even know it!! No, because all you care about are reality TV stars and what celebrity is having a baby now," she took a deep breath "I HATE THIS WORLD!!!!!" she finally screamed, she groaned and suddenly slumped against the transparency, slowly sliding to the floor, clutching her head and moaning "Alex?" she asked softly

"I'm right here" Alex said as she rushed to the cell, opening and hurrying inside and gathering Astra up into her arms (or rather, her one good, non-broken arm), letting her rest in her lap

"There's something happening to me and I don't like it" Astra moaned

"I know, I know, just a little while longer," Alex encouraged as she ran her fingers through long dark hair "just let the lights sweat it out of you"

"Oh, why do you care so much?" Astra whimpered

"Because I love you" Alex whispered

******

It took about another hour, but finally the kryptonite emitters cleansed Astra's system of the red kryptonite

"How are you feeling?" Alex asked as Astra slowly sat up

"Tired...thirsty," she answered, she blinked "Alex...what about Kara?"

"She's still out in the infirmary," Alex answered "I was just about to go check on her, want to come with me?"

"Please," Astra winced as Alex helped her to her feet "Alex...about what I said" she began, Alex shook her head

"It's fine," she said "and after what Kara said to both of us, that was nothing"

"I know, but still..."

"Yeah," Alex nodded grimly "I know"


	27. Images

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex muses on the fact that Astra doesn't have any mementos of home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place sometime before Part Nine

******

Alex didn't have many photographs in her apartment, unlike Kara, the few pictures that Alex had were mostly of herself and Kara and then some of her parents. Astra, she knew, had no pictures to remember her home by, no pictures of Alura, no pictures of Kara, none of her parents, nothing, all she had was her uniform, her spy beacon, and the hologram of Alura back at the DEO, none of which carried what you could call 'happy' memories

That was probably why she turned to sketching Alex figured. She had a large notebook which she would sketch in almost daily, always refusing to show Alex the end result, Alex didn't mind, she figured the other woman was entitled to her secrets and her privacy

That didn't stop Alex from wanting to see inside the sketchbook though

Which brought her to her current conundrum because the sketchbook was sitting _right here_ completely unattended, Astra was out with Winn doing only god knew what and had left the sketchbook just sitting there on the couch, ripe for the taking

No, she wouldn't invade Astra's privacy like this, it was low and mean

On the other hand it was right there!

No

Yes

No

Yes

NO

YES

"Screw it" she finally decided, hurrying over and opening the sketchbook. The first image was of Astra and Alura, beautifully drawn, the two sisters each in their own spheres, Astra standing tall and proud in some kind of armor in the midst of a battlefield, one hand reaching out, Alura, by contrast, stood tall and queen-like in her robes, the image of what was clearly the Kryptonian version of a courtroom around her

The next page was of the twins as children, two older women standing behind them, presumably their parents, the women's eyes were kind, loving, yet there was a hint of fearfulness in them, worried for their children. Another was of Kara as a little girl, her eyes bright

The last sketch had her pausing. It was of her, her eyes bright, laughing at something. She looked...beautiful through Astra's eyes

"I always liked that one" Alex jumped, bolting up off the couch to find Astra standing behind her

"I'm sorry! It was just laying there!" Astra smirked and shook her head

"It's all right, love, I can't begrudge you your curiosity" Astra dismissed

"Is this...," Alex held out the page "is this how you see me?" she asked, amazed

"No," Astra shook her head "that is how you are"


	28. I Like Musicals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex has another secret love besides trashy romance novels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Kara geeking out over _"Funny Face"_ in "Star-Crossed", now, if only that scene could have been with James instead of He-Who-Is-Despised-By-All-Except-The-Producers :=)

******

Alex loved musicals

There was no other way of saying it. She loved musicals. Period. She could--and did--happily watch _My Fair Lady_ , _The Sound of Music_ , and _'Singin' in the Rain'_ all on repeat without getting bored, and she and Kara often had musical binge nights, it wasn't until Astra caught her humming to _'Singin; in the Rain'_ (badly) and asked just what she was doing that Alex realized that she hadn't exposed Astra to this wonderful thing

"Sit down" she instructed

"All right," Astra replied slowly, she gave Alex a funny look "why must I sit down?" she asked

"Because we're going to watch _'My Fair Lady'_ and _'The Sound of Music'_ , _and_ _'Singin' In the Rain'_ and you're going to like them" Alex had made it sound almost threatening, like it was some kind of torture, but Astra had merely nodded, confused, as Alex had grabbed the DVDs and popped them into the player, starting with _'Singin' in the Rain'_ and working out to _'The Sound of Music'_ , _'My Fair Lady'_ , _'Easter Parade'_ , Mel Brooks' _'The Producers'_ , and dozens more.

Finally, about four or so hours later, Alex had reached for the remote, only for Astra to grab her hand

"Wait, don't," she said, pulling Alex close "I want to see it again" she got up and put _'Easter Parade'_ back into the player. Yawning, Alex had to smile smugly as Astra settled back down

"Told you" she mumbled as the opening number flared to life again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it weird that I'm actually listening to Laura Betnanti's "I Like Musicals" as I'm writing this? No, of course it isn't, just like it isn't weird that _'My Fair Lady'_ is one of my favorite movies of all time :=)


	29. Compromising Positions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex and Astra walk in on Winn and Lucy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun with General Danvers and Major Nerd (and thanks to Kimmiehier for coming up with 'Major Nerd', hope I spelled the name right), and now here we go

******

"I still say we should've had called first" Astra muttered

"Its fine," Alex sighed as she knocked on the door "what harm could there be?" she asked as there was a loud _thump_ on the other side followed by the sound of Winn yelping

"OW, ow, Lucy, my leg doesn't bend like that!"

"Would you relax?! It'll be fine!" Lucy snarled out in response

"Ow! _Not_ fine!" Winn yelped "what are you doing with your arm?" he demanded

"I'm moving it! I thought you said you've been working out? This should be easy for you"

"I was a theater geek! Not a gymnast! Ow, ow, ow! Quit it, will you?!"

Still standing outside, Alex and Astra stared at each other

"Should we....you know...find out what's going on?" Alex wondered

"I have a key" Astra offered with a shrug as Alex knocked again, louder this time

"Winn? Lucy? It's Alex and Astra" she called out

"Oh, hey guys," Lucy's voice called out cheerily "come on, door's open"

Still frowning, Alex cringed, put her hand on the doorknob and turned it, opening the door, gaping at what she saw

"Well," Astra began "this is certainly different"

"I'll say" Alex nodded

"Hey," Lucy waved "be right with you," she wriggled an arm free and twisted her head "OK...right...foot....green" she read

"OH COME ON!!!" Winn moaned, he wriggled but couldn't move his foot "whoever came up with _Twister_ was a sick, sick person" he muttered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who thought this was something dirty, you have a filthy, filthy mind :=)


	30. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex muses on Astra's scars again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sort of a sequel to "Marks", trigger warning, implied rape and attempted suicide

******

Alex frowned as she lightly traced the scars along Astra’s back, being careful not to apply too much pressure, to just rest her fingertips very lightly over the skin, because the scars were still sensitive even after all these years, these long, deep gashes in her back

“What are you doing?” Astra looked up from the pillow, reflexively pulling the covers up and over her back self-consciously

“Nothing,” Alex shook her head “just…marveling at these” she explained

“Well don’t,” Astra told her firmly “they’re nothing to be marveled at” she added as she rolled over onto her back and went back to sleep. She was wrong, Alex knew, because each of Astra’s scars told one part of her story, told of what she endured and what she had survived.

There were long, claw like scars on the insides of her thighs, as if something had forcibly pried her legs apart to do only god knew what, she still flinched whenever Alex touched them without warning.

There was the small white dot on her neck, where General Lane had injected her with liquid kryptonite that, according to Astra, still pulled and burned every now and then.

There was the small scar near her left hip, where Indigo had stabbed her after she’d gone to help Kara stop the Coluan from nuking the city, this one, unlike the others, she bore proudly as a badge of courage, once telling Alex it symbolized her redemption.

There were two long white scars on the insides of her wrists, she claimed that they were from the constant rub of the shackles used in Fort Rozz, but Alex knew better, knew that they had been made with something thin and sharp like a knife, knew that from the angle they were at meant that they were self-inflicted.

Alex paid special attention to those ones whenever they made love, softly kissing each one, trying to sooth whatever horror caused them away

She was a patchwork woman, her general, torn apart and then sewn and stitched back together piece by piece, scar by scar, tragedy by tragedy, and made stronger in the end


	31. Dancing in the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Astra enjoys a rainstorm and Alex enjoys watching her

******

“Astra!” Alex laughed “god! You’re such a kid some times!” in front of her, gleefully splashing in puddles on the rain-slicked sidewalk, Astra twirled like a ballerina, tipping her head back to let the rain pour down her face. They’d been coming back home from lunch when a freak thunderstorm suddenly struck, drenching the city in minutes, and while most people had rushed inside, Astra stayed out, gleefully playing in the rain like a child, a look of pure and utter _joy_ on her face that Alex couldn’t bare to demand she come back inside, for one thing it wasn’t like she could catch pneumonia, and for another she knew that it had been a long time since Astra had been able to be so _free_

“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve _seen_ rain, let alone _felt_ it?” Astra asked, huddled under the overhang from the apartment building, shivering, Alex had to laugh “come join me” Astra held out a hand

“Oh, no,” Alex shook her head “no way, I’m fine, right here—HEY!!” she yelped as Astra supersped over and yanked out into the downpour “oh god! It’s freezing!” Alex yelped as she was instantly drenched in heavy, freezing cold rain

“Relax, love,” Astra smiled “I’ll keep you warm”

******

Later as they huddled under a blanket on the couch, cups of hot coca on the coffee table, Alex had to smile as Astra weaved tales of the last time she’d seen rain, when she’d been a child on Krypton, playing in the rain soaked crop fields of the family farm with Alura in one of the last rainstorms that Krypton would ever see.

And as she continued, her enthusiasm palpable, Alex knew that this was one of those moments she would remember for the rest of her life

Especially when Astra suddenly sneezed...


	32. Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Astra's dance in the rain has consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Direct follow up to "Dancing in the Rain"

******

Alex winced as Astra coughed, hard, before flopping back with a groan. Apparently the whole myth that Kryptonians couldn’t get sick on Earth was just that, a myth, it appeared that Kara and Clark had just been lucky as children and it took really strong viruses to get through that tough Kryptonian immure system

Like the very nasty flu strain that was running around lately

“Alex?” Astra asked softly

“Yeah, hon?”

“I don’t feel good”

“I know,” Alex reached out and fluffed the pillow under Astra’s head “are you sure you’re going to be OK while I’m gone?” she asked, Astra grunted in response “all right,” Alex agreed hesitantly “I’ll only be gone about an hour, call me if you need anything” she explained

******

When Alex got back in a record fifteen minutes, she found Astra in the exact same place she’d left her, sitting on the couch idly flipping through the TV channels, the only difference was the thermometer sticking out of her mouth, which beeped as Alex shut the door, Astra pulled it out and frowned

“Here, let me,” Alex took the thermometer and nodded at the results “well, you’re temperature’s down, that’s good, how’re you feeling?”

“Disgusting,” Astra spat, her voice now a gravely rasp “I feel as if I’m… _leaking_ ” she sneered in disgust

“Didn’t kids ever get sick on Krypton?” Alex wondered as she began to unpack the takeout she grabbed on her way back from work, opening the container of miso soup and pouring it into a bowl

“We were a ‘perfect society’, remember?” Astra replied “no diseases, no defects,” she smirked and held up a hand “well…almost no defects”

“Hey come on,” Alex admonished as she came over with the soup “you are not a defect” she said firmly as she held out the bowl

“Some would disagree,” Astra grumbled as she sat up “oh, miso soup?” Alex nodded “good, I always liked Japanese cuisine” shifting so that she was sitting up she took the bowl and spoon and began to slowly slurp the soup, groaning in pleasure while Alex settled down next to her and leaning against her “don’t do that,” Astra warned “if this virus is as contagous as your say I don’t want you to endure this”

“It’s fine” Alex whispered as she snuggled closer


	33. Sick, The Sqeuel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex catches Astra's cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow up to "Sick", which itself was a follow up to "Dancing in the Rain"

******

"I'm sorry" Alex groaned as she flopped back down onto the pillow after yet _another_ coughing fit

"It's all right" Astra soothed

"No it's no," Alex groaned "I'm keeping you awake"

"Actually, this book is keeping me awake," Astra replied as she idly turned a page "you, my darling, are keeping me worried" she explained

"It's just the flu, Astra," Alex sighed "and besides you just went through this, so you shouldn't worry too much"

"Perhaps" Astra acknowledged as Alex sat up, coughing again

"Here's a question," she groaned as she flopped back again "can you actually 'break' a lung? 'Cause it sure feels like it," Astra merely chuckled, and Alex frowned at her. Propped up against the pillows, with her nose buried in a book, she looked very lovely with the light from the bedside lamp glinting off her hair "what are you reading?" Alex asked

" _The Secret Garden_ " Astra answered

"Hmm, haven't read that since I was little" Alex mumbled as she snuggled closer (she was sick, she could afford to compromise her tough image) 

"I find it quite lovely" Astra replied, Alex nodded

"So do I," she replied "Mom used to read it to me whenever I was sick," she explained, she frowned and looked up at Astra "could, could you...?" she trailed off, embarrassed, but Astra merely smiled and nodded, flipping back to the beginning of the book and began to read.

And as she weaved in and out of the tale of a young girl, a mysterious, heartbroken uncle, and a hidden garden, Alex realized that, this, _this_ , was heaven

If only her damn lungs would cooperate


	34. Hard to Explain Bruises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title says it all

******

“Alex, hey” Alex looked up, waving as James came over to her table

“Hey,” she greeted “so, where’s your girlfriend?” she teased, James just smiled and pointed to the counter

“I think she’s getting herself every sticky bun in the shop” he answered, Alex chuckled, but frowned

“Hey, you OK?” she asked “you’re…wincing?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” he dismissed “I was just shooting some hoops last night and fell pretty hard, that’s all”

“Really?” Alex reached out and poked him in the side, nodding as he yelped and pulled away “you’re a terrible liar, Olsen,” she declared “you’ve got a cracked rib”

“Fine,” James sighed, he blushed as he sat down across from her “last night, Kara got a little too…” he trailed off

“…enthusiastic?” Alex asked, he nodded

“Did you know she broke her last four boyfriends’ noses?” Alex nodded

“I did, yeah, she called me the last time at three in morning sobbing about how she’d ‘never find love’,” she made little air quotes “so I came over and we devoured her stash of ice cream”

“Yeah,” James sighed “still, I’m sure you and Astra have the same problem”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but no, not really,” Alex glowered at him “actually she’s very gentle” she explained as she reached for the sweetener, gasping and wincing as her arm locked

“You all right?” James asked, reaching for her

“Fine,” Alex panted out “ah, damn it, Astra!” she cursed, James raised an eyebrow challengingly at her, Alex stared back, each of them waiting to see who would break first “I got this during a training run” Alex lied, usually she could lie like nobody’s business, but not today, today James might as well have had x-ray vision because he saw right through her

“Sure, of course,” he nodded, utterly unconvinced “I’m sure your job is very stressful and dangerous”

Awkward silence

Awkward silence

“Yeah,” Alex finally said slowly “very dangerous”

More awkward silence

More awkward silence

“OK fine!” Alex exclaimed “I pulled something last night, in bed, with Astra! Happy now?!”

“No, not really,” he took a sip of his tea “satisfied is more like it”

“Hey, guys!” they both looked up as Winn all but danced over to their table, wincing as he sat down

“You OK?” James asked

“Who? Me? Yeah! No problem, man, I am _fine!_ ” Winn grinned like the proverbial town idiot “although,” he began, leaning forward “if you really want to know…”

“Stop!” they both ordered

“Winn, please, just…don’t”

“OK, all right,” he held up his hands “I get it,” he glanced over at the menu “oh, hey cool, they got those chocolate things back!” getting up, he dashed over to the line to order

Alex turned back to James

“Why is it that, out of the three of us, Winn is the only one who _brags_ about the hard to explain bruises?” she wondered

James just shrugged


	35. The Stakeout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or how J'onn and Astra became friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place sometime before Part Five. Could be seen as a follow up to "Sick, The Sequel"

******

**Hour One…**

J’onn scowled and looked back over his shoulder

“What are you _doing_ back there?” he demanded, his answer was a snarl of 

“Whoever requisitioned this vehicle last was an animal!” he grunted as Astra threw several empty cheeseburger wrappers into the front seat along with one empty big gulp cup “either that or your organization’s cleaning service is in need of better training” she grumbled as she wriggled back into the front seat, opened the and jogging across the street to a public trashcan, dumping the trash before coming back and climbing back into the SUV “that’s better” she sighed

“It’s going to be a long stakeout” J’onn grumbled

**Hour Two…**

“How can you eat these things?” Astra wondered as she munched on one of the bags of Chocos he’d brought with him “they’re so sickeningly sweet” she complained

“That didn’t seem to stop you from eating the last two bags” he pointed out

She simply showed him a certain finger

**Hour Three…**

“I’d forgotten how _boring_ these kinds of operations could be,” Astra groaned as she thumped her head against the headrest, she glanced over at him “anything?”

“No,” J’onn set down the binoculars “not yet”

“Remember to look for changes in color and lighting,” Astra reminded him “their camouflage is very effective”

“I remember,” he nodded “and would you please stop that?”

“Stop what?”

“That… _fidgeting_ you’re doing”

“I don’t like being in confined spaces,” she explained, still shifting and fidgeting in her seat “ever since I was a child I hated them,” she stopped and smirked humorlessly “the guards in Fort Rozz took great pleasure in tormenting me like that” she added, J’onn scowled

“I’m sorry to hear that” he apologized, and he was, she may have been a reforming alien criminal, but that didn’t mean she deserved to be tortured for no reason, if at all

“Thank you,” she replied “and, I am sorry as well”

“For what?”

“For your people, your world,” she explained solemnly “no one mentions it, but I think that you and I feel far more anguish over the deaths of our worlds than Kara does,” she explained “and certainly far more than Kal-El”

“I suppose we do” J’onn acknowledged, a moment of silence passed between them

“May I ask you a question?” Astra asked, J’onn nodded

“You may”

“This form you’ve adopted is it…uncomfortable?” she asked “what I mean is, is it difficult to sustain the same form for long periods?” J’onn frowned as he thought about it

“It’s not painful, if that’s what you’re asking,” he began “but it is uncomfortable, like…holding the same pose for a long time” she nodded

“I see” another moment of silence passed

“May I ask you a question?” J’onn began

“Of course, it’s only fair” he smirked

“Does it hurt getting shot?” she blinked, clearly having expected something more profound

“It doesn’t hurt in the traditional sense,” she began “but is it…annoying, like being hit with sand or gravel, the blows are too small to cause any real injury, but it does still register”

“I see,” J’onn nodded, he frowned as she suddenly winced, rubbing at her neck “you all right?”

“Yes, it’s merely,” she trailed off and sighed “the scar from where your General Lane injected me,” she explained “it still….burns sometimes” 

“He’s not my general,” J’onn grumbled, he frowned “how does it feel?” he wondered quietly “kryptonite” he elaborated, he was expecting her to simply not answer, but instead she frowned thoughtfully

“It…burns,” she began “but it’s not like fire, it’s cold, like ice, and at the same time you feel…sick. Not just weak, but sick, your limbs feel heavy, and trying move them even the tiniest amounts saps what little strength you have left, your vision blurs and dims, you start to feel feverish and dizzy, like you might pass out, but you’re in too much pain to do that yet, your stomach begins to twist into knots, your skin feels like thousands of insects are crawling all over you. And yet, you still feel cold, like your very blood is beginning to slowly freeze solid in your veins,” she smirked at his horrified expression “you asked”

“I am sorry that he did that to you” J’onn apologized, she nodded

“Thank you, J’onn J’onzz” something had changed in that moment, they were no longer enemies, they were no longer allies, they were no longer and a commander and a subordinate, they were…well, J’onn didn’t know what they were, but it was definitely something…more

******

“Hey,” Alex waved from under her mountain of blankets and tissues “how was the stakeout?” she asked

“Enlightening” Astra answered


	36. Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex is still awed by how strong and how gentle Astra can be

******

Astra had lovely hands, Alex knew, they were thin and almost-delicate, very lady-like. They were the kind of hands you’d except to see on a queen or some other kind of noble, with long, thin , tapered fingers.

Alex was still awed by the sheer raw power in those hands, hands that in one moment could shatter concrete with a single punch, and then, in the next, very gently brush across her face, stroke her hair, make love to her oh so sweetly, hands that she held quite often, gently curling her own fingers around Astra’s.

Even now, as she lay on the couch, her head pillowed in Astra’s lap while the other woman read a book, those hands still fascinated her

“Astra?” she asked

“Hmm?”

“Let me see your hands” she requested, Astra lowered her book and blinked

“Why?” she frowned

“Just…let me see ‘em,” still frowning, Astra put down her book and held out her hands. Alex smiled as she gently grasped one of them and lightly traced her fingers across the planes of Astra’s hands, feeling the muscles and tendons flex beneath the skin, the ligaments pull “I ever tell you that I just love your hands?” Alex murmured

“No”

“Well, I do,” she gently curled Astra’s fingers in to form a loose fist “you can bend steel with your hands, reach into a fire and not get burned, and…yet…you can be very gentle, I know that you’d never hurt me with these hands”

“Never” Astra whispered as Alex placed a gentle kiss to Astra’s palm, sighing as the hand flexed, fingers curling around the back of her head, drawing her up and in for a kiss

Such lovely hands

And an even lovelier owner...


	37. Weightless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or having a girlfriend who can fly is kind of cool and very... _interesting_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WILL update Part Eleven of What we are!!!! Slight warning for mild sexual content, it's very mild but its there

******

Astra could fly. Alex knew this. She also that it presented... _possibilities_ , the idea of making love while flying over the city had entered her mind more than a few times, but how would it actually work?

So, after chickening out like a dozen times, she finally worked up the courage to offer the idea to Astra. She was relieved when Astra admitted that she'd had the same fantasy and the same logistics problem.

So, the only solution was a test run. Which is how Alex found herself laying on top of Astra as she floated a foot or so above the bed, high enough to get a sense of what sex while flying would be like, but low enough that should she fall off Astra while getting off (which was looking more and more likely if Astra kept doing that thing with her fingers) she shouldn't be injured.

Deciding that it was only fair that Astra be uncomfortable too, Alex worked her hand down between them, curling her fingers in _just_ right way so that Astra jerked, bucked, and came

Hard

So hard in fact that they both came crashing down onto the bed with a, well, crash

A loud crash

A crash that sounded an awful lot like the bedframe breaking

Whoops


	38. This One is Too Hard, This One is Too Soft, This One is Just Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex and Astra go mattress shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Direct sequel to "Weightless"

******

“Well?”

“No, I don’t like it”

“It’s supposed to be good for your back”

“I don’t have problems with my back”

“Ok, fine, it’s supposed to be good for _my_ back”

“I still don’t like it, I feel as I’m… _sinking_ ”

“OK, memory foam is out,” Alex sighed “you want to just go back to a regular inner spring?” she offered

“Yes” Astra nodded as she swung her legs off the mattress and onto the floor “we wouldn’t need to purchase a new mattress if you hadn’t insisted on trying out that fantasy” she grumbled as they made their way back towards where the inner spring mattresses were

“Me?” Alex squeaked “hey, I don’t remember hearing you complaining,” she pointed out, she smirked “I still can’t believe we broke the bed” she chuckled, Astra began to chuckle as well

“I can’t believe the mattress snapped in half” she grinned, Alex grinned back, but then sobered

“Oh, damn,” she muttered “who are we going to get to help us put the new bed together?” she wondered

“We have Kara and James and Lucy and Winn” Astra pointed out, she paused next a mattress and flopped down onto it, frowning

"No good?" Alex asked, Astra shook her head as she got up

"Too hard, it'll be like sleeping a rock" she declared

"That was too soft, this one is too hard," Alex rolled her eyes "I can't that you're so picky about your mattress firmness, I know for a fact that you _have_ actually slept on rocks before"

"Yes, and I hated every second of the entire experience," Astra countered, she poked at the next mattress and flopped onto, grinning as she bounced a bit "perfect"

"Really?" Alex drawled

"Come and see for yourself"

"All right," Alex laid down next to her "hmm, no, now it's too soft for me," Astra sighed, Alex sat up "sorry," she apologized "what about one of those air ones? You know the ones where you can adjust the firmness on each side?"

"We can't afford one of those"

"Damn," Alex sighed "maybe we should just get two twin mattresses and put them together on the same frame"

"Wait, say that again"

"What? Oh, I just said that maybe we should just get two twin mattresses and....you know, that's not a bad idea"

"Can I help you two ladies?" the frighteningly _perky_ sales rep asked

"Yes" both women chorused


	39. Some Assembly Required

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or how many people does it take to put a bed together? Answer one DEO agent, two Kryptonians, one photographer, one I.T. guy, and one U.S. Army Major

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Direct sequel to "This One is Too Soft, This One is Too Hard, This One is Just Right", which is a sequel to "Weightless"

******

“OK, who has the second page?” Kara asked

“Uh, wait,” Winn held up a piece of paper “oh, no, wait this is page four…so, where’s page three?”

“I got it” Lucy held up a paper

“OK, who’s got Side B?” Alex asked

“Here” Astra held up a hand

“OK,” Kara held up a paper “found page one”

“Good, read it” Alex instructed

“Uh, OK, ‘insert Tab B into Slot A. Once secure, then insert Slot A into…Slot B’, what the…?”

“This is ridiculous!” Lucy roared “we have six people here, including two _aliens_ and none of us can figure out how to put a fucking bed frame together!”

“Well, at least your directions are in English,” James held up his paper “I think I got the Korean page”

“Oh my god” Alex groaned, while Astra started chuckling

“What’s so funny?” Kara wondered

“Nothing, I was just thinking back to that old joke, ‘how many people does it take to screw in a light bulb?’, or this case ‘how many people does it take to assemble a bed’?”

“The answer is none of us” Kara spat, throwing her paper away


	40. Sides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or after you get a new bed you have to decide who sleeps on what side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Direct sequel to "Some Assembly Required" which is a sequel to "This One is Too Soft, This One is Too Hard, This One is Just Right", which itself is a sequel to "Weightless"

******

“So,” Alex began “which side do you want?” she asked as she and Astra stared at the newly assembled bed with its two twin mattresses

“Well, you always sleep on the left, so I’ll take the right as usual”

“OK” they both laid down and instantly scowled

“Perhaps we should…switch sides?” Astra offered

“Yeah” they switched sides, but then Alex was too far from the door and Astra felt exposed

“Oh, I got it!” Astra ushered Alex off the bed and switched the _mattresses_ “now try it” they laid down, Alex on the left, Astra on the right

“Perfect” they both announced


	41. E-mail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or when a bunch of government agents get bored things start to happen. Takes place after Part Nine

******

From: Alex Danvers (agentADavners@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Astra In-ze (agentAIZ@ us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: You idiot

Astra, you’re an idiot

\---

From: Astra In-ze (agentAIZ@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: re: You idiot

Alex, please explain to me how I am an idiot? I fail to see how my constructive criticism of your work would lead you to think that I am an idiot

Astra

\---

From: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Astra In-ze (agentAIZ@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: re: re: You idiot

You just are

\--

From: Winn Schott Jr. (agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Lucy Lane (agentLLane@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: General Danvers

Luce, it’s Winn. Do you know what’s going on with Alex and Astra? They’re being very snippy with each other

OK

MORE snippy than usual

\---

From: Lucy Lane (agentLLane@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Winn Schott Jr. (agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: General Danvers

Winn, no clue as to what’s with them. Why don’t you ask them? Astra’s YOUR friend

Lucy

PS, I can READ your e-mail address you dork :=)

\--

From: Winn Schott Jr. (agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Astra In-ze (agentAIZ@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: You and Alex

Astra, Winn, what is going on with you and Alex?

\--

From: Astra In-ze (agentAIZ@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Winn Schott Jr. (agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: re: You and Alex

Winn, there’s no need to worry, my dear Alex is just being her usual stubborn, obstinate, aggravating self

Astra

\--

From: Winn Schott Jr. (agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: You and Astra

Alex, Winn, is everything OK with you and Astra?

\--

From: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Winn Schott Jr. (agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: re: You and Astra

Winn, everything’s fine, Astra’s just being an ASS. As usual. What else is new?

Alex

\--

From: Kara Danvers (karadanvers@catcoworldwidemedia.com/ENCRYPTED/SECURE)  
To: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: Winn told on you

Alex, Kara, WHAT THE HECK is going on with you and Astra? Winn tells me that you two are glaring and snapping at each other now. And not in the usual sex-with-your-eyes-thing

Are you guys breaking up?

\--

From: James Olsen (jamesolsen@catcoworldwide media.com/ENCRYPTED/SECURE)  
To: Winn Schott Jr. (agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: Kara’s crying

Winn, Kara’s crying about Alex and Astra breaking up, what is going on over there?

\--

From: Winn Schott Jr. (agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED  
Subject: re: Kara’s crying

Alex, James just told me that Kara’s crying about you and Astra breaking up? Maybe you should try talking to Kara about whatever’s going on here?

\--

From: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED  
To: Kara Danvers  
Subject: re: Kara’s crying

Kara, GOD NO we are NOT breaking up! We’re just having a spat, that’s all, relax

\--

From: Kara Danvers (karadanvers@catcoworldwidemedia.com/ENCRYPTED/SECURE)  
To Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED  
Subject: re: Kara’s crying

Are you sure?

\--

From: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED  
To: Kara Danvers (karadanvers@catcoworldwidemedia.com/ENCRYPTED/SECURE)  
Subject: re: Kara’s crying

Yes, Kara, I’m sure, it’s just a little disagreement that’s all

\--

From: Kara Danvers (karadanvers@catcoworldwidemedia.com/ENCRYPTED/SECURE)  
To: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED  
Subject: re: re: Kara’s crying

What’s going then? Is it about the wedding?

\--

From: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED  
To: Kara Danvers (karadanvers@catcoworldwidemedia.com/ENCRYPTED/SECURE)  
Subject: re: re: Kara’s crying

No, Kara, it’s about something else. Don't worry so much, we're fine

\--

From: Director Jeremy Brooks (JBrooks@.us.gov.dod.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED), Winn Schott. Jr.(agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED), Lucy Lane (agentLLane@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: Workplace e-mails

Agent Danvers, Agent Schott, Deputy Director Lane, please remember that these e-mail accounts are for official DEO/GOV business only. I understand your need to discuss interpersonal relationships, but please use your own personal e-mail for it. Remember that all DEO/GOV e-mails are permanently stored within our servers and that certain keywords or content is flagged for further review

Thank you

Director Jeremy Brooks, DoD special covert operations division, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

\--

From: Lucy Lane (agentLLane@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED), Winn Schott Jr. (agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED), Astra In-ze (agentAIZ@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: The pencil pusher in DC

OK people you heard the man

\--

From: Director J’onn J’onzz (hankhenshaw@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED), Winn Schott Jr., (agentWS@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Lucy Lane, (agentLLane@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED), Astra In-ze (agentAIZ@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: Workplace e-mails

People, I just got a very long-winded e-mail from DC, something about you four using your DEO e-mail to criticize Alex’s Xena, Warrior Princess fan fiction? Need I remind you all that the DEO is a GOVERNMENT organization? Please keep it outside

\---

From: Astra In-ze (agentAIZ@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: Spell check

Alex, any person who has ever watched the show would know from the title that ‘warrior’ is spelled with THREE Rs, not to mention that ‘bard’ does not have an I in it

Astra

\--

From: Director J’onn J’onzz (hankhenshaw@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
To: Astra In-ze (agentAIZ@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED), Alex Danvers (agentADanvers@.us.gov.mil/ENCRYPTED)  
Subject: Workplace e-mails

What did I just say, people?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by "Secure Communications Channel" by chaotik, a truly hysterical fic that answers the question of what these people would do when they get bored


	42. Star Light, Star Bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex tries to give Astra a little piece of home. Inspired by "Sound & Color" by swwf17, a truly cute fic about Alex and Kara in their early years as sisters

******

Alex had never really thought about the stars. She supposed it had something to do with having two astro-biologists as parents (among other degree), her parents had oohed and awed over the stars so much in her early years she, frankly, started to tune them out. So, she never really thought about the stars.

Unit Kara came

After that she began to realize the importance of noticing the stars. So, about a week after Kara came she had bought a bunch of those stupid little glow-in-the dark star stickers and stuck them up on the ceiling of her shared bedroom, trying to match the drawing Kara had made of the Kryptonian night sky. As the years passed she began to memorize the image of those stars, only natural after staring up at them for year after year, night after night

After Astra had proposed, Alex vowed to do something for her. So, she grabbed a couple of cans of paint, Kara's old sketches, as well as some DEO starcharts that she 'borrowed' from the mainframe (it wasn't she like was going to steal them she'd put them back when she was done), bullied Winn and Kara as her helpers (which actually didn't take that much bullying), and then draped a dropcloth all around her bedroom and got to work...

******

"Why must I keep my eyes closed?" Astra asked as Alex led her into the bedroom "and why am I wearing Kara's glasses?"

"It's a surprise," Alex explained as she gently maneuvered Astra into the relative center of the room "OK, open 'em," Astra opened her eyes and looked around, confused "look up" Alex grinned, Astra blinked

"Why am I--oh" she stopped and simply stared up at the mural now spreading across the bedroom ceiling, the mural that depicted the view of the night sky from Krypton's capital city. It was by no means a professional job, but Alex thought that she, Kara, and Winn hadn't done too bad of a job

"What do you think?" Alex asked, watching as Astra slowly turned in a circle, never taking her eyes off the ceiling "Astra?"

"What?" Astra blinked and looked back at her "oh, I'm sorry, Alex, I just..." she trailed off and looked back up

"Come on, it looks better if you're lying down," she tugged on Astra's hand, getting her lie down on the bed "so...," Alex began "is it good?"

"Yes" Astra whispered

"I get everything right? The constellations?"

"Yes," Astra nodded "Vohc, the Builder, Nightwing, Cythonna, the goddess of ice and death, Kara, the goddess of beauty," she gave a little breathless laugh "all here"

"Where's your name?" Alex wondered

"There," Astra pointed "above Cythonna"

"What was Astra the goddess of anyway?" Alex wondered

"She wasn't a god," Astra shook her head "more of a demi-god"

"But what did she represent?" Alex wondered, Astra bit her lip, frowning before finally answering

"...destruction," she finally whispered "Astra was the goddess of chaos and destruction, said to be the one who would eventually bring about the end of Krypton," she chuckled bitterly and looked over at Alex "I guess the myths were right, weren't they?"

"No," Alex shook her head and pulled Astra close "you're not a goddess of chaos, Astra," she breathed "you're a....a goddess of hope" Astra nodded, even as Alex felt tears against her cheek

"When I'm with you I do feel like that," Astra finally whispered, she pulled Alex close "thank you for this, love"

"Are you sure?" Alex asked "'cause, I mean, if it upsets you, I can just get some white paint and---"

"No, no, it's fine. It's more than fine, it's wonderful, actually," she pulled Alex closer "I missed these stars"

"I know"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> General Danvers fluff with some hurt/comfort thrown in :=)


	43. Anything but ordinary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or what led Astra to end up in Alex's apartment all the way back in Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This chapter, in addition to being a prequel to the entire series, is also my first attempt at a songfic, so let me know how I did

******

Astra wasn't sure where she was, but it was somewhere in the depths of the city. She fingered the spy beacon in her hands

__

_Whose eyes am I behind?_  
_I don't recognize anything that I see_  
_Whose skin is this design?_  
_I don't want this to be the way that you see me_  
_I don't understand anything anymore_

__

_And this web that I'm tied up_  
_Is taking me right up these walls_  
_That I climb up_  
_To get to your story_  
_It's anything but ordinary_

How long had it been since she had kissed someone? And a _Human_ no less, a human who had been raised with Kara, who saw Kara as her sister, who could have killed her tonight, who _should_ have killed her, but instead had insisted on trying to talk her down, on trying a more peaceful approach.

Like Alura would have done. Like Alura had tried to do, but Astra hadn't wanted to listen to reason then, she had been so driven, so committed, so sure of her own success, and what had it earned her? What had her commitment to Myriad gotten her? More than a decade spent in hell and the chance to witness Non spiral ever downward into insanity, Astra knew that if she were to suddenly leave him, Non would no doubt fly into a manic rage

_And when the world is on it's knees_  
_With me, it's fine_  
_And when I come to the rescue_  
_I get nothing but left behind_

Was Myriad truly a solution she wondered, could striping the free will from every single person on this planet truly be an answer? She had thought so once, but now...

No

Myriad was _not_ a solution. It never had been, all it was the desperate plan of a desperate woman, but what other choice did she have? Surrender to the humans and be tortured again? Hardly an enticing prospect, but it seemed to be the only option available to her now

__

_Everybody seems to be getting what they need_  
_Where is mine?_  
_'Cause you're what I need so very_  
_But I'm anything but ordinary_

She touched her lips reflexively, remembering how it had felt to kiss the human, _Alexandra_ her mind supplied, oh what a thrill that had been, even amidst the heat of battle, to finally allow herself to _feel_ again, even if only for a moment. She almost laughed at her thoughts, why did _she_ deserve to be loved again? Who would ever be willing to love her?

_Alexandra_

__

_Can you save me from this world of mine?_  
_Before I get myself arrested with this expectation_  
_You are the one_  
_Look what you've done_

__

Astra nearly laughed, a human, she had fallen utterly in love with a human, a human who had no idea of what she had done. The very idea sounded so utterly _ludicrous_ , but yet... 

__

_And when I come to the rescue_  
_I do it for you_  
_Time after time_

She reached up and touched her lips again, thinking back to when she had been captured by the humans and exchanged for their commander's freedom. Had she stopped Non to honor the agreement? Had she done it _only_ for Kara? Or had she done it for someone else? For Alexandra? 

_I_

_I think I'm trying to save the world for you_  
_You've been saving me, too_  
_We could just stay in and save each other_

Standing up, Astra felt lighter, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Come what may, rejection, arrest, imprisonment, she had to at least see Alexandra Danvers one more time 

__

_I'm anything but ordinary_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrics are from "Ordinary" by Train. This chapter (and the song) was originally an idea I had to a fanvid for this series, but so far, the video's not doing too well, so for now at least this is the closest we'll get, eventually I might tack on the video to this chapter or do it as a separate "What we are SPECIAL!" type thing :=), anyway hope you liked it and let me know what you thought


	44. Driving General Astra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex teaches Astra how to drive

******

"Easy, easy...brake, brake!" Alex jerked back, as if leaning away from the image of impending doom would somehow help prevent it

"I already have"

"Right! Good! OK," Alex slowly let out a breath and ran through her mental checklist again. Seat belt firmly buckled, check, death-grip on armrests, check, heart palpitations, again, check, life insurance, check, last will and testament, again, check "OK," she finally sighed, she suddenly felt bad for her father, he had to teach Kara how to drive, at least Astra had some experience operating a motor vehicle of some kind "OK," she repeated " _slowly_ press down on the accelerator...good, look both ways, good...gently. gently, there you go, atta girl"

"I'm not a skittish horse, Alex," Astra grumbled as she gently turned the steering wheel "I've operated far more complicated vehicles than this, in far more dangerous conditions than this" she reminded her

"Right. Sorry," she sighed "OK, you can speed up a little...there you go...not _too_ fast, that's it"

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and let me drive"

"Right. Sorry"


	45. Let's name her 'Gertrude"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Astra starts pet hunting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight spoilers for Season Two's "Alex" in here, nothing major though, although I am _definitely_ going to do a full What we are-AU of that episode, because the potential for General Danvers hurt/comfort is just too great. Takes place after Part Nine

******

"Gertrude," Winn looked up at the mumble from Astra "by Rao's Light, what kind of name is 'Gertrude'?" she grumbled. Winn stopped typing himself (he was cataloging all SEVEN tomes of the Delvian homeworld, it could wait a few minutes)

"You OK over there?" he asked as Astra hunt and pecked at the keyboard (she was a sloppy typist, but it worked for her)

"Fine, Winn, just fine," she muttered distractedly "how big is a Golden Retriever?" she asked suddenly

Winn stared at her

"...pretty big," he finally answered, he really _shouldn't_ ask, it was none of his business, really, but still "why...do you want to know?" he finally asked

"Alex wants a dog," Astra answered as she continued hunting and pecking at the keyboard "and I quote: 'something big and friendly'," she shrugged and sighed "and, as you no doubt can imagine--"

"...you can't deny her anything," Winn finished with a chuckle, he frowned "did you have dogs on Krypton?" he wondered

"We did"

"I mean... _actual_ dogs, long noses, wagging tails, not, not like some...barking snake?"

Astra stared at him

"A 'barking snake'?" she echoed, giving her 'idiot' look (which, to be honest, Lucy gave him that look fives times a day, so he really wasn't bothered by it. Much)

"Well...yeah," he shrugged "I mean, you're an alien, just because you and Kara look human, doesn't mean that every other animal on Krypton looked like animals on Earth"

"That's very true," she nodded "but, yes, our dogs did look like dogs here on Earth, same personalities," she chuckled "I gave Kara a puppy once as a gift, unfortunately he promptly used one of Alura's robes as a chew toy" 

"Oh boy"

"Exactly," she chuckled "Kara was too young to care for a puppy anyway, so she gave him to Jor-El and Lara, who in turn gave him to Kal-El"

"Huh," Winn chuckled "so Superman had a dog, cool"

"Well, so did I," Astra smiled wishfully "On-va," recalled "it means 'swift one'," she explained "he used to lay under the table and warm our feet when he wasn't out with Mother helping tend to the animals"

Winn chuckled, the image of a young farm girl Astra was very cute, totally at odds with her current image of a cool, badass alien General

"So, 'Gertrude'?" he asked

"Ah, Alex wants a female dog and wants to name her 'Gertrude'." she explained

"Why 'Gertrude'?"

"I have no clue"

"Well, good luck"

"Hmm," she went back to typing "did you have a dog as a child?"

"Hmm, no, both my parents were allergic, always wanted one though"

"You should," Astra nodded "every child should have a dog"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually hunt and peck when I'm typing :=), also, I totally agree that every kid should have a dog! DOGS FOREVER!!!!


	46. Jeopardy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Astra's the queen of _Jeopardy_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WILL update Part Eleven of What we are!! I swear!!! But for now, enjoy this :=)

******

“ _This term was originally used by the Romans to describe anyone who was uncivilized”_ ”

“Barbarian” Astra answered without looking up from her book

“That’s an easy one” Alex scoffed

“ _First used in late-19th century, this communications device takes its name from the Greek word for ‘sun’_ ”

“Heliograph” Astra answered

“ _Correct_ ”

“OK, how did you know that?” Alex demanded, Astra merely shrugged

“ _The first S.O.S. was first sent by this famous ship_ ”

“The _Titanic_ ”

“ _Correct_ ”

And so it went, through the rest for the first round, and into Double Jeopardy

“ _Category for Final today is; ‘U.S. History’, and here is the clue ‘Although praised as an American, this famous Revolutionary was actually of British nobility_ ”

“George Washington”

“Oh my god!” Alex grabbed a throw pillow and soundly hurled it at Astra’s head “I’m never watching _Jeopardy!_ ever again” she declared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was acutally supposed to be longer, but I couldn't come up with anymore clues :=)


	47. Hidden Talents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Astra has many hidden talents. Some of which aren't so useful, but fun nevertheless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WILL update Part Eleven I swear!!!

******

Alex stared. She blinked once, twice, she rubbed at her eyes, hoping that the truly _bizarre_ sight in front of her would go away at some point. It didn't. Finally she just _had_ to ask

"Astra?"

"Yes, love?"

"Uh...what are you doing?"

"I think you call it 'juggling' here on Earth"

Now Alex just had to ask the obvious next question

" _Why_ are you juggling?"

"Why not"

"O...K, let me rephrase that, why are you juggling oranges at three AM?"

"Again, why not?"

"I'm...going to go back to bed now"


	48. With Your Permission..

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Astra has a question that she knows will never be answered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after Part Eight/Nine

******

"Tradition dictates that I for your permission," Astra began, she smirked "and although I have never been one for following tradition," she continued "I want to do this right," she chuckled humorlessly "even though, I know that you cannot answer me one way or the other," she sighed and looked down at the etching in the stone

Jeremiah Danvers  
Beloved Farther and Husband  
He Will Be Deeply Missed  


"I wish I could have met you," Astra finally whispered into the silent air of Midvale's cemetery "I wish I could have met the man who gave Alex her strength, I wish that you could see how your daughters--for they are both your daughters, make no mistake--how they've grown, the things they've accomplished, the lives they saved," she chuckled "and the souls they've redeemed," she bent and gently scooped a handful of dirt out of the earth, gently placing it atop the tombstone "I want you to know that I will always respect her," she whispered "and that I would never hurt her, ever," 

Straightening, she stepped back and sighed and turned to leave, stopping as a gentle breeze suddenly whispered across her face, like a caress, and she could have _sworn_ that she heard laughter on the wind.

Smiling, she idly slipped her hands into her pockets as she began to walk away, a lightness in her step "thank you" she whispered...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, that was unexpected, but I liked writing it. In case you were wondering, the scene with Astra placing a handful of dirt isn't some made up Kryptonian custom, but is actually a traditional Jewish way of honoring the dead, traditionally, dirt or pebbles are thrown onto the coffin as its lowered into the ground, and sometimes loved ones will place a small handful of dirt or pebbles on the grave itself when they vist


	49. It's a Nice Place to Visit...now let's get out of here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or even on an assignment as tourists, Alex and Astra can't keep out of trouble

******

Puerto Verde was a small island in the Caribbean. Home to white sandy beaches and fruity cocktails, it was a popular Caribbean vacation spot for cash-strapped tourists, as the lower economy meant that virtually everything there was about ten times cheaper than in the U.S. or Europe. The island was also noted for the fact that it was the most politically unstable in the Caribbean.

First the democrats had thrown the Spanish out in the 1800s, then in the 1980s, Communists took over, then in the 1990s a monarchist group threw out the communists and reestablished the throne, the king was then thrown out by the democrats, who reestablished the presidency, who had been fighting on and off with communist guerrillas ever since, as his regime slowly became more and more corrupt and dictatorial.

In the last decade the island had subjected to at least three political revolutions

Correction. Four.

Alex ducked down behind a shipping crate as bullets peppered the wood

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!" she yelled

"MY FAULT!?!" Astra demanded "how is this my fault? What was I supposed to do, Alex? Just leave those people behind to be sent to the mines?"

"If it meant _not_ starting a revolution, then YES!!"

"Oh! You're being ridiculous!" Astra spat as she loaded her gun and opened fire "and for the record," she began as the shooters returned fire "I did _not_ give those prisoners guns, in fact, if memory serves, _you_ were the one who armed them"

"Only to help them get out of the mines!" Alex snarled "I wasn't the one who told them to go and storm the presidential palace"

"Well neither did I!"

They both ducked as more gunfire erupted

"Oh great! Now who are these people?!" Alex demanded as a _third_ group burst onto the dock and opened fire

"Who cares!" Astra snarled "do you have the idol?" Alex grunted and opened her bag, revealing a small stone idol that, in actuality, was an alien artifact that had been left on the island at least a thousand years ago "good," Astra grunted as more gunfire erupted "I know that J'onn ordered me not to use my powers..." she began

"Screw it! Get us out of here!" Alex yelled

"Gladly" grabbing Alex, Astra swiftly took off, heading for home as fast as possible...

******

"Well, I see that you both got out unscathed" J'onn commented as he examined the idol

"Yeah," Alex sighed "can we go now?"

"You may," J'onn nodded. As they turned to leave, he stopped them "by the way, there's another assignment coming up in Europe"

" _Where_ in Europe?" Alex asked

"Bosnia"

"Absolutely not!" they both exclaimed


	50. The Bat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Kara's not the only creature that flies around the DEO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Kara's complaining about a bat in the S2 opener

******

"Hey!" Kara swung her arms out "get away from me!"

"Kara, what are you doing?" Alex asked as she came over to the operations table in Command to find Kara swatting at something above her head

"Its this bat," Kara spat out "it keeps.... _dive bombing_ me!"

"Bats don't dive bomb," Alex pointed out "and besides there shouldn't be any bats in here anyway, we moved them to another part of the cave system when we moved in" she explained

"Well one got away," Kara grumbled, yelping as a small brown shape suddenly darted down from the ceiling and did indeed dive bomb her. Alex would have laughed at the image of Supergirl ducking and cringing as a tiny bat fluttered overhead if she wasn't ducking herself "OK! It bit me!" Kara exclaimed

"So what?" Alex exclaimed "it's not like it could actually hurt you"

"What couldn't?" Astra asked as she came over, frowning at the image of Alex and Kara both crouched on the floor

"A bat" Alex explained, sheepishly getting to her feet

"A bat?" Astra asked

"Yeah, you know, small, nocturnal, only mammal that can actually--"

"I _know_ what a bat is, Alex." Astra interrupted the unspoken _'idiot'_ lingering in the air "why would it bit Kara?" she asked "most bats only eat insects or fruit"

"Don't know" Alex shrugged

"It's the lights" Astra explained, nodding up at the lights

"What about the lights?" Kara asked

"Bats are nocturnal," Astra explained "the lights in here are designed to mimic natural sunlight for the humans who work down here, they're probably disturbing the bats"

"OK, so, I'll go tell Hank to get some exterminators in here" Kara resolved

"Kara, you can't do that!" Astra exclaimed "they were here first, they have as much right to be here as you or I"

"Thank you, Captain Planet," Alex rolled her eyes "I don't want a bunch of dead bats dropping out of the air as much as you, but they are a problem, they're a pest, and they're droppings carry disease, so what do you suggest we do that doesn't involve killing them?"

"Simple," Astra shrugged "move"


	51. Life Studies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OR a solar flared Astra lets Alex satisfy her inner biologist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by "A Different Biology" by Shadowpuff

******

"Ow" Astra winced as the needle for the blood draw went in

"Sorry," Alex apologized "you have thicker skin than a Human," she explained "means I need to use a bigger needle"

"Wonderful," Astra grumbled, idly rubbing the area through the gauze and tape "any word on that beast that stepped on me?"

"Afraid not," Alex sighed as she put a drop of Astra's blood onto a slid and examined it under the microscope "weird" she muttered

"What is?" Astra asked

"Your blood," Alex answered "it's like you've got...I don't know, an extra cell type in there"

"You mean the nanocytes?" Astra asked

"The what?"

"Nanocytes," Astra repeated "they're microscopic machines implanted in the blood of all Kryptonians from birth, they maintain the cells and the overall health of the body," she frowned "didn't Kara tell you about this?"

"No," Alex shook her head, she frowned "can I scan you?" she asked

"I beg your pardon?"

"Scan you," Alex repeated "in the CAT scanner, I'd love to see your internal biology"

"I know what you're _trying_ to say," Astra began with a frown "but think about _how_ you just said it"

Alex cringed

"Sorry" she mumbled

"That's all right," Astra shrugged "and seeing as how I've been placed on leave until my powers return...," she sighed melodramatically and _flopped_ back down on the gurney "do your worst" she grinned...

******

The CAT scan only took a few minutes--although, Alex knew that with her claustrophobia, it probably felt much longer being inside the machine to Astra--and she made apology after apology, until Astra actually told her to shut up

"Oh, _wow_ " Alex breathed as she held up one scan, this one of Astra's internal organs. everything was in the same place more or less, but there were some obvious differences

"What? Is something wrong?" Astra asked

"No, not at all," Alex shook her head "it's just...wow, look at this," she shook her head again "you have two hearts?"

"Not really," Astra shrugged "what you might call a 'second heart' isn't really a heart, it's more a filtration system" she explained

"Like kidneys," Alex guessed "which I see that you also have," she switched out the slide for another one "a six lobed brain?" she asked, staring at the scan, which showed that, yes, Astra's brain, while having the same outline as a Human brain, was divided into six lobes rather than two. In fact, almost every organ seemed to have double the amount of divisions or parts that they did in Humans. The 'main' heart for example had six chambers instead of four, and had arteries leading into it from both the top and the bottom, (the 'second' hear didn't seem to have any chambers that Alex could see, didn't seem to beat either, just sort of sat there behind Astra's heart).

Astra's lungs were divided into two chambers, a top and a bottom, her stomach seemed to have two chambers, and her liver--slightly narrower at the ends than a Humans--had four lobes instead of two

"What's this?" Alex asked, scrolling down on the image "oh," she blinked as she came to view what was clearly Astra's womb and ovaries "four ovaries," she noted, seeing the four, walnut-sized organs, the uterus was also a different shape than a Human's, rather than the familiar upside-down pear-shape, Astra's looked more like a Y.

Switching the next slide revealed yet another surprise, Astra's ribcage was arranged more or less like a Human's, but the ribs themselves were slightly thicker than a Human's, aside from that however, her skeleton seemed to be arranged just like a Human's, expect for the joints, all of Astra's major joints showed signs of increased flexibility "almost like a cat" Alex muttered

"What is?" Astra asked

"Oh, your joints, it looks like that you're naturally double-jointed" she explained

"As, I'm sure you are _well_ aware of" Astra purred, which made Alex blush and frown. Clicking on the mouse, she highlighted the scan of Astra's larynx, finding two bony plates in the back of the throat, just like in a cat, she even found evidence of what looked like vestigial muscles in the fingers and toes that would have, at one point, probably allowed Kryptonians to extend their fingernails like claws

"Your biology is reminiscent of a cat or other feline" Alex realized

"That isn't that surprising," Astra shrugged "Kryptonians evolved from a creature very similar to a feline" she explained

Alex stared at her

"A feline," she repeated, she looked her lover up and down "you're a...cat?" she squeaked

"Well, we didn't evolve from tree-swinging primates," Astra snorted "I'm an extraterrestrial, Alex," she reminded her "just because I _look_ Human, does not mean that I am"

"Right" Alex mumbled...


	52. Rascel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex sees Astra in a whole new light

******

"This is utterly undignified!" Astra growled. Alex bit her cheek to keep from laughing, the words sounding utterly _unintimidating_ given Astra's current appearance. On a mission to track down a Fort Rozz escapee with Kara, Astra had been hit with some kind of energy weapon that had produced some...interesting affects (at least Alex certainly thought so).

Physically, Astra was unharmed more or less (although her powers were currently kaput). mentally she had all her marbles in place, her memory was fine, her psych profile read the same as had before she'd went out. In fact there was virtually nothing to stop her from going right back out and kicking some alien butt

 _Except_ for one, teeny, tiny little problem...

Physically, Astra was about five years old right now.

Now she sat on a gurney, fuming, as Alex examined her. Unfortunately for Astra she had apparently been a very _cute_ five year old, so her fuming did nothing but make Alex (and Winn, and Lucy, and Kara, and even, shockingly, J'onn) all go 'awww!' when they'd seen her scowl

"Will you _stop_ smiling?!" Astra demanded "this is in no way funny!"

"Uh, yeah, it kinda is," Alex snickered, even though she was at a loss. Astra didn't just _look_ like a five year old, physically, she _was_ five years old now. Even her clothes had shrunk with her, she now sported an exact miniature version of the DEO's standard-issue TAC gear, including a pistol (which had been swiftly taken away from her, despite her protests that she was of sound mind).

Sighing, Alex stood up "well," she began "everything else tests out OK, aside from the decrease in physical age, you're otherwise fine"

"Charming," Astra drawled, somehow making the sarcasm stick despite her (currently) childlike voice "do you possibly have a _solution_ to my predicament?"

"Well," Alex sighed "the good news is it looks like you're aging normally, so even if we don't do anything, you'll eventually just 'grow up' again like normal"

"I would rather not have to endure adolescence _twice_ in one lifetime, Alex"

Alex nodded, shuddering as she remembered what puberty had been like for her, Kara had been lucky, she was already in the early stages when she'd arrived on Earth. But for Astra, puberty with superpowers (not mention a fully intact adult mind) sounded really, really, really, really, _**awful**_.

"Well," Alex began "right now, Winn's working on a kind...infusion of solar energy, which might kick start your metabolism and get you back to your normal age in a short amount of time"

"Or send me into early old age"

"Or that," Alex agreed. She sighed as Astra suddenly yawned, her body most likely not able to keep up at its present age "come on," Alex scooped Astra up, actually kind of enjoying the fact that she could carry her for once "let's get you home, you look like you could a nap"

"If you start singing lullabies to me, I will make you regret it"

******

Arriving home with a child in tow--dressed like a tiny SWAT member at that--caused more than a few questioning eyes from her neighbors. But, Alex just did what Kara had once figured out what to do: act natural. So, she simply ignored the looks from her neighbors and unlocked the door, walked inside, and shut the door all in one, casual, blasé movement

"Will you put me down?!" Astra demanded "I am not a doll!"

"No, but you kinda look like one right now" Alex chuckled, setting her down. Astra scowled and marched towards the fridge with as much indignity that a five year old in combat boots could muster--which, in Astra's case, was quite a lot. Alex bit her lip to keep from laughing as Astra stopped in front of the fridge, no doubt suddenly realizing that she was now much too short to reach the handles and without her abilities, couldn't simply fly up and reach them "need a hand?" Alex chuckled

"Fuck you"

"Language" Alex tutted, even as she went over to the fridge and opened it. Finding in the milk, she grabbed a glass and poured some milk into it, handing it to her pint-sized General

"Milk?" Astra questioned

"Yeah," Alex nodded "Its good for kids," she grinned and crouched down to Astra's level "don't you want to grow up big and strong?"

Astra promptly threw the milk in her face

"I went too far with that one, didn't I?" Alex spluttered as Astra stalked away...

******

Hours later and Astra was now deliberately avoiding Alex, which given her current state might have seemed fitting, but Alex knew that Astra really was upset by it. Stamping down her inner prankster, she tentatively approached the couch, where Astra had built a little nest for herself with the pillows and books

"I'm sorry," Alex began, Astra looked up, idly turning page of her well-worn copy of _Jane Eyre_ , but said nothing "I guess, I didn't think how hard this was on you"

"Obviously not," Astra agreed "what if you can't fix this? What then?" she asked

"Then...you'll just grow like normal"

"And what about you?" Astra asked

Alex froze. She knew that Kryptonians aged much slower on Earth, so by the time Astra would hit her early twenties, Alex herself would be....long gone. And even if they did solve it, in the meantime Astra was stuck as an adult mind in a child's body, unable to do anything about it, unable to properly hold Alex or show any signs of affection

"I guess I didn't think of that," Alex admitted as she sat down next to Astra's little nest. She frowned up at the clock and then looked out the window, it was late, but it was still daylight "hey, come on" she stood up and held out her hand

"Where?" Astra asked "what for?"

"How many people get to relive their childhood?"

"Alex, I hatted being a child," Astra exclaimed "I hated it then, and I especially hate it now"

"Humor me, please?"

"Fine!"

******

Finding a small enough set of clothes had been difficult, but she'd managed to wrangle Astra into a pair of Kara's old clothes that had somehow ended up in the back of her closet. With that done, she led Astra out to the elevator (once again ignoring her neighbors stares) down to the ground floor and then out of the building proper

"You still haven't told me where we're going" Astra complained

"You'll see" Alex replied as they crossed the street and went down one block

"The park?" Astra asked as they stopped at the small park near the apartment

"Not just the park," Alex answered, leading her charge towards the small swing set nearby "have you ever been on a swing?" she asked

"I can happily say no"

"God, even as a child you're a pain," Alex muttered "come on" she scooped Astra up and sat her in one of the swings

"Is this... _thing_ even sanitary?" Astra wrinkled her nose

"Just humor me, please?" Alex sighed, Astra sighed back

"All right, how does one operate this?" Astra asked

"You don't 'operate' it," Alex rolled her eyes "you just...swing. Here," sighing, she hopped into the other swing and demonstrated "now you try"

Frowning, Astra swung out her short little legs and swung back and forth. Smirking, she did again, a little faster

"This is actually rather fun" she admitted

"Told you"

******

They stayed in the park for a few more minutes, but eventually had to get home as the sun set. Alex had taken the couch and tucked Astra into the master bedroom. By morning, Astra woke up back to her normal age (possibly even a little younger, Winn had joked) and, even more good news, the alien had been captured and locked up at the DEO.

"I have to admit," Astra began as she snuggled up next to Alex on the couch later that night "but...I rather enjoyed being a child again"

"I thought you hated it?" Alex asked

"I did," Astra answered "but that was because I didn't have you as a friend growing up"

"Softy" Alex chuckled


	53. Falling in Love From Afar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or how Astra fell in love with Alex

******

Alex sighed as she sipped her wine--a nice red that Lucy and Winn had left after game night a few days back--while she snuggled deeper into Astra's embrace, the cool night air whipping around them

"Garden's coming in nicely" Alex nodded to the small planter box sitting next to them on the fire escape. Astra just 'hmm'ed in response, not at all unusual as the faint sounds Julie Andrews singing the theme to _'The Sound of Music'_ reached them from another apartment. Sitting up, Alex smirked and waved to old Mr. Potter who lived in the building across the street, and who would--without fail--listen to the soundtrack from _'The Sound of Music'_ every night before he went to bed. Mr. Potter waved back energetically as he settled down in his armchair.

"I used to hear these songs every night," Astra spoke up, Alex frowned up at her "I used to follow you," the Kryptonian explained "after we first met, after J'onn put that knife into my arm. You...mesmerized me, entranced me," she explained "so, the first opportunity I had, I followed you, watching you from afar"

"I never noticed" Alex remarked

"I didn't expect you to," Astra shrugged "every night, I would sit on that rooftop," she nodded to Mr. Potter's building "and watch you. I watched you with Kara, having no idea of you were to one another. In fact," she chuckled "until you told me that you were sisters, I thought that you were lovers for the longest time"

"Ew" Alex muttered

"Yes, but like I said, I had no idea who you were to one another," Astra sighed "I think I fell in love you during that time. I saw you in your more...dark moments, the way you drank, and I can remember wanting _so badly_ to go over and hold you at times, because you looked so... _broken_ and I thought that, perhaps, we could be broken together, that perhaps I could finally find some peace of mind, or at the very least, a kindred spirit, someone who knew what it felt like to hold others up while you yourself fell"

For a long moment Alex simply stared at Astra, stunned

"Do I really mean that much to you?" she finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper

"Yes," Astra nodded "if you hadn't stopped me on that rooftop that night, I would have ended up dead, either from your hand or from Non, because once Myriad would have gone on-line I had no doubts that he would try to kill me and take control of Fort Rozz himself"

"Well, his sister did a pretty good job of that" Alex muttered, shivering at memories of Faora

"That she did," Astra agreed quietly, pulling Alex closer "so, you see," she continued "you didn't just save J'onn;s life that night, you saved mine as well"

Alex said nothing as she carefully set her glass down and turned to face Astra, pulling her into a gentle, achingly soft kiss

"I think we saved each other that night" she whispered against Astra's lips

"I think you're right" Astra agreed...


	54. Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex takes Astra dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! Enjoy! :=)

******

The place wasn't too crowded, but it wasn't empty either. Although branded as a club, the Griffin was reminiscent of an old jazz club rather than the pulsing, deafening beat-kind of clubs that Alex used to frequent in collage. When Alex had first come up with the idea, she wasn't sure how Astra would react, open displays of affection, especially among strangers, was something of a social taboo on Krypton apparently, even a couple simply holding hands in public was something of scandal.

To her great surprise and relief, Astra had rather shyly agreed to go out dancing. Choosing a club was difficult, but eventually, Alex had settled on the Griffin, an old dance hall, turned modern, alternative club.

Now, both dressed in dresses and heels (Astra looked very stylish and 'cool' in her bright green satin dress), they sided up to the bar, ordered and, for the moment, merely watched the crowd

"This is lovely," Astra commented "thank you"

"No problem" Alex replied easily, idly and briefly linking her fingers with Astra's before quickly pulling away, remembering those Kryptonian social taboos. Smiling softly, Astra reached out and firmly grasped her hand

"We're not on Krypton" she said simply with a soft smile

Alex felt herself just _glow_ at the sight of that smile, smiling herself as the band--an actual brass band, not a DJ--struck up a tune, recognizing it as Glenn Miller's _Moonlight Serenade_. Standing up she gave a mock-bow and offered her hand to Astra

"Would the lady do me the honor of dancing with me?" she asked

Astra chuckled "The lady need not ask," she replied as she flowed to her feet, firmly grasping Alex's hand "she never needs to ask" she breathed as they glided onto the floor, easily slipping in and around other couples, the lights glinting off the polished hardwood floor and the brass of the band's instruments, giving the room an almost-ethereal quality.

"You're beautiful" Alex breathed

"No," Astra shook her head "I'm not, I'm not ugly, or unattractive, no, but beautiful? No"

"You are," Alex insisted "what's it going to take to make you believe that?" she wondered

Astra smirked "Perhaps," she began "if you say it enough times, I'll eventually believe it"

"Then allow me to say it again: you're beautiful," Alex breathed "especially in that dress" she added. Astra's dress was a dark green satin, it went down to her knees, with the hemline ending at an angle on the left side, leaving a long expanse of thigh exposed, long enough to entice, but not so short as to be obscene

"As do you" Astra breathed, nodding to Alex's own, simple black, shoulder less cocktail dress

"Glad you liked it," Alex breathed "because I've got more than just dancing on the menu for tonight"

"I look forward to it" Astra chuckled...

******

Hours later, after outlasting all of the other dancers at the club, they had quietly made their way home, leaving the dresses to puddle on the floor as they climbed into bed and into each others arms...


	55. Alex & Astra's Guide to Making Breakfast (in 25 easy steps)

******

**Step one:** Wake up hear to your alien girlfriend banging around in the kitchen cursing loudly in Kryptonese

 **Step two:** Debate whether its worth actually getting up to deal with

 **Step three:** Have nightmarish visions of Astra's idea of 'cooking'

 **Step four:** Get up

 **Step five:** Hurry into the kitchen without _looking_ like you're hurrying

 **Step six:** See that everything's fine

 **Step seven:** Ask "What's for breakfast?" in disbelief

 **Step eight:** Receive the worrying answer of "I'm not entirely certain"

 **Step nine:** Decide that you can always grab something from Nooan's on your way into work if this turns out bad

 **Step ten:** Suddenly notice how the short t-shirt that Astra's wearing shows off her legs. Her _long_ legs

 **Step eleven:** Drool as expected

 **Step twelve:** Began to nibble on the back of Astra's neck

 **Step thirteen:** Entice your girlfriend to turn around by nibbling on _that_ spot on her neck, the one that makes her knees turn to jelly

 **Step fourteen:** Roughly shove her against a wall and have your way with her until she's babbling in English and Kryptonese and telling you to "Stop teasing me or I'll do something violent!"

 **Step fifteen:** Take a moment to relish in seeing her reduced to a babbling mess of hormones

 **Step sixteen:** Repeat steps fourteen and fifteen

 **Step seventeen:** Notice that something is burning

 **Step eighteen:** Realize that breakfast is on fire just as the smoke alarm goes off

 **Step nineteen:** Understandably panic

 **Step twenty:** Stop panicking as your girlfriend extinguishes the fire with freeze breath

 **Step twenty-one:** Say something smart, like: "Didn't know that flambé was on the menu"

 **Step twenty-two:** Laugh and duck as a dish cloth is hurled at your head

 **Step twenty-three:** Apologize and suggest going out for breakfast

 **Step twenty-four:** Repeat all of these steps the following day

 **Step twenty-five:** Decide that life is _**good**_


	56. Water, Water Everywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex and Astra share a bath. Or try to anyway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More What we are one-shots! And yes all of these are canon in the What we are-verse. Enjoy! :=)

******

The water was warm, almost scalding really, just the way Alex liked it. Her patented method of relaxing after a long day of hunting down aliens was to have a nice long soak in a very hot bath. She'd even bought an apartment with a rather large tub just for that purpose.

Sighing, she leaned back, allowing the warm water to ease her sore muscles away, scowling at a knock at the bathroom door

"Alex?" Astra called out from the other side

"Yeah?" Alex asked, trying to keep the annoyance out her voice. It wasn't Astra's fault, but honestly! Couldn't she just get some alone time?!

"I need to come in" Astra insisted

"Ok, fine," Alex sighed. The door opened and Astra nodded politely at her as she went to the sink and grabbed her toothbrush "try not splatter" Alex mumbled as Astra began brushing her teeth

"That'ath'ook'viting'ay'y'oyn'ooh"

"What?" Alex asked. She shook her head "uh, hon, rise first, then talk" she advised

Astra quickly rinsed out her mouth "I said 'that bath looks inviting, may I join you'." she explained

Alex shrugged "Sure, why not"

Beaming, Astra quickly shrugged out of her clothes and gently stepped inside the tub, water sloshing

"It's hot!" she exclaimed

"So?" Alex scoffed "its not like you'll burn"

"No, I know," Astra shook her head "its just...surprising" she sighed as the water soon began to work its magic on her muscles, stretching out her legs.

Or rather, she tried to stretch out her legs

"Ow! Watch it!" Alex winced as Astra's knee firmly connected with her ribs. Her _bruised_ ribs at that

"Sorry," Astra shifted again, only ending up bang her foot into Alex's shin "sorry"

"OK! You know what--"

"Wait, wait," Astra shifted and then turned around so that she was sitting between Alex's legs, leaning against her "there. Is that better?"

Alex just shook her head, smiling. With company like this, it was worth running her alone time...


	57. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex and Astra are caught in an...interesting position

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For polybi, who suggested the idea :=). Wasn't sure what you meant by 'dizzy' in your suggestion so I hope this is what you had in mind. Even if it isn't, please enjoy :=)

******

"Ow!" Alex yelped

"Sorry," Astra mumbled, shifting a bit "there, is that better?"

Alex hiccupped "Sure" she grinned as she wobbled

"Gently" Astra said as Alex stumbled

They both looked at each other and giggled, both a little too far gone to care how silly they looked right now as they continued down the hallway. Just as they reached the apartment door, the door swung open

"Are you _drunk?!_ "

"Mom!" Alex moaned, exasperated as Eliza Danvers stood in the doorway glairing at them

"We're not drunk," Astra explained "we're...we're..." she trailed off, face screwed up in a look of confusion

"Dr-ugged" Alex pronounced slowly, looking proud at having gotten it right

"Riiiiight," Astra nodded emphatically, grinning stupidly "that's it"

"Drugged?" Eliza asked, now concerned "what happened?" she asked, ushering them both inside the apartment

"A...something...big...and, bug, buggy stung us" Alex mumbled

"Buggy" Astra snorted as they simultaneously collapsed onto the couch, one on top of the other

"Shh!" Alex hissed in what she clearly _thought_ was a whisper (it wasn't) "don't, don't tell Mom. She, she's visiting remember?"

"I remember," Astra nodded firmly, completely ignorant of the fact that her head was now squashed under Alex's shoulder and stuck against a large throw pillow "don't tell Alura"

"No," Alex shook her head, her own head somewhere under Astra's curtain of hair "never. We, we have to...to...to...," she trailed off "Astra? Wha, what do we have to do?"

"Donno," Astra mumbled "too sleepy"

"Sleepy," Alex nodded "right. We sleep. Yeah"

Watching all of this, Eliza groaned and looked skyward

"You're laughing at this aren't you?" she muttered, thinking of Jeremiah. Who, after yelling at Alex for being irresponsible in the field, would have laughed himself sick,.

Sighing, she rearranged them so they looked less like a piece of human origami and threw a blanket over them, deciding to let them sleep it off

When they woke up however...

Well...she wasn't above a little bit of family blackmail...


	58. Being Mr. Rochester

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex finds out why Astra likes one book above all others

Alex grimaced as she picked up Astra's copy of _Jane Eyre_ , watching as several pages actually fell out of the book to drift to the floor. In truth, Alex wasn't all that surprised, Astra read and reread the book dozens of times over, it was a small miracle it had lasted this long.

"Oh...no"

Alex turned, wincing sympathetically as Astra stooped and picked up the fallen pages, her face falling as she quickly realized that there was no saving the book. Having grown up in a house full of readers, Alex could sympathize and gave Astra's arm a reassuring squeeze

"I'll buy you a new one" she vowed

Astra's face took on the bright, bashful look she got whenever Alex offered to do something for her just because she could "You don't have to do that," she tried "I'm perfectly capable of buying my own copy"

"I know," Alex nodded "but I want to, OK?" she turned back to the book "damn, I haven't read this thing since high school"

"You should read it again," Astra encouraged "it's a lovely book"

"It wasn't very happy from what I remember," Alex commented. She frowned "why do you like it so much?" she wondered

Astra smirked, a bit bitterly "It...speaks to me" she began hesitantly

"How so?" Alex asked.

Astra frowned, and was silence for a moment, clearly gathering her thoughts. Finally she spoke "How much do you remember of the book?"

"Not much," Alex admitted with a shrug "I remember that Jane had a happy ending with Rochester, but not much else"

Astra smirked "In the book, Jane finds in Rochester a kindred soul in a way. He treats her almost as an equal, and is often rude to her, which she finds better to handle that false flattery. She in turn surprises him with her strength, both physical and mental," she smirked "...much like you" she added quietly

Alex stared at her "What?" she repeated

Astra nodded "I'm Rochester," she explained "trapped in a loveless marriage to a madman, left to aimlessly roam, trying to forget," she reached out and gently cupped Alex's cheek, her thumb softly swiping across Alex's cheekbone "and you're Jane. Strong, stubborn, forced to endure countless hardships but refusing to bow to them. Oh yes, you _are_ Jane Eyre, love"

Alex shook her head "No," she said softly "I think...I think we're _both_ Jane _and_ Rochester. Because we've both been through hell and back and survived"

"Yes we have," Astra agreed softly, pulling Alex in for a quick kiss "do I get my book now?" she teased

Alex snorted "Sure, let me get my keys"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't actually read Jane Eyre (although I've been meaning to), so apologize to fans of Charlotte Bronte if my interpretation is off


	59. Mother's Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Eliza muses on her daughter's relationship with Astra

******

Ever since Kara had come to live with them, Eliza had always been a little tougher on Alex, more so once Jeremiah passed. She hadn't done to be mean, or hurtful, but she had unintentionally driven her daughter to excel, to exceed, expectations, including her own, and while on one hand that was good, it also meant that Alex had swiftly spiraled down a very slippery slope.

As much as Eliza had hated learning that Alex worked for the DEO, she knew that it had ultimately saved her life. Meeting J'onn J'onzz had eased some of that worry and fear. Some, but not all.

But it was Astra who had truly saved Alex's life.

When she had first met the woman, Eliza had just been glad that Kara still had family left, having Astra suddenly blurt out that she and Alex were dating had been surprising to say the least, but in that moment, she could see that Alex had truly, utterly, fallen for the Kryptonian, her relation to Kara notwithstanding.

Talking to Astra later that night, hearing her confession, about all things she'd done, what she had been planning to do to National City before Alex stopped her had been frighteningly, terrifying, but Eliza could also see that Astra loved Alex, that she had found redemption through Alex, not Kara, that she had been willing to turn her back on her cause, freely, easily, to actually _try_ a different way, all because of Alex.

As more time passed, as her daughters faced down a still-living Hank Henshsaw bent on revenge, Myriad, and Cadmus, Eliza saw how they both grew, she saw how Kara had fallen head-over-heels for James Olsen, how Winn--who she'd always seen as the son she never had--fell for Lucy Lane, and how Alex and Astra stood by each other, each of them drawing strength from one another. How the two of them, both broken in their own way, healed each other.

Astra may not have not have been Eliza's first choice--or even on the list--but she was the _best_ choice for Alex


	60. Martian's Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or J'onn muses on Astra and how much she's changed. Takes place during the end of Part Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SIXTY!!! Whoo! :=)

******

There were times that J’onn still didn’t trust Astra. Oh, he trusted her insight just fine, he trusted her tactical strategies, and he trusted that she would never willingly hurt either Kara or Alex.

But still, there were times that he didn’t trust her.

When Astra had first shown up on the scene she’d just been another hostile, granted a hostile who was directly related to Kara, but still a hostile. Even so, J’onn still felt sorry for her upon hearing that General Lane had tortured her. She was a threat, yes, but no one deserved that.

When Alex had come to him explaining that Astra had given her a solution to free Kara from the black mercy, he’d understandably been skeptical. Oh, he didn’t doubt that Astra loved her niece, but he doubted that she’d be so careful with Alex’s life. Even so, he’d let Alex go through with the procedure, eternally grateful when both she and Kara emerged unharmed.

Later that night, as he fought Astra in his true form, as she held a knife to his throat, he could see something else about her. She took no pleasure in killing; to her it was necessary, unfortunate, but necessary.

Watching Alex hold the sword to her throat had been surprising. Even more surprising had been how she had managed to talk Astra down. But what had stunned him, what he could never had imagined even if he lived to be three _thousand_ and seventeen years old, was seeing Astra kiss Alex. And one didn’t need to be a telepath to see the desperation in Astra as she did so. She wasn’t just a ‘hostile’ anymore, no, in that moment she was like him.

Broken

Battered

And so utterly lonely

Perhaps that was the real reason he didn’t go after her when she took off, rather than being too tired from the fight. When Kara had come in the next morning carrying an injured Astra and yelling that Non had taken Alex, there was a part of J’onn that had wanted to kill Astra, and if he hadn’t heard Kara’s story about how she’d found Astra at Alex’s apartment the night before, about how they had talked for hours, reconciling, he very well could have.

He had been understandably surprised and suspicious when Astra had broken free and volunteered to help in the rescue effort, but with Alex being held in Fort Rozz he didn’t really have a choice and had ordered General Lane to let her go.

When she and Kara had returned, an unharmed Alex with them that was when J’onn realized that that kiss had actually meant something to both Astra and Alex. Which was way he had agreed with the President when she had suggested that Astra could be of value to the DEO and had offered Astra probation with General Lane’s begrudging agreement.

As time passed, as they took out more hostiles in the next few months than they had in years, J’onn realized that Astra was sincere in her desire to reform. At the very least she was trying because Kara and Alex wanted her to, so he had offered Astra a position with the DEO, mostly as a test to see what she would do, if she refused than that meant that was only doing it for Kara and Alex and had no real desire to actually help, but if she accepted than that meant she was indeed trying.

When she accepted, J’onn knew that he’d been mistaken, knew that she was trying to turn over a new leaf, to atone for her sins. The moment that everything had changed had to be when they encountered the surviving guard from Fort Rozz, learning that Astra had been raped while inside the prison had only made J’onn feel for her, because he knew that kind of cruelty.

From that moment one, something had changed between the two of them. Astra no longer saw him merely as her superior, and he no longer saw her as just another alien, they were, as Astra once phrased it, kindred; part of an ever-growing, bizarre little family.

When he’d been forced to expose his true identity to save Astra from Rudy Jones/Parasite, he realized that he hadn’t just been doing it for Kara, or for Alex, but he’d been doing it for Astra too, because she didn’t deserve to die, not like that most of all, and as he had languished in a cell at the DEO, Astra had been his most frequent visitor next to Alex, often dropping by baring chacos and stories, trying to keep him up to date on the goings on outside his cell.

As Hank Henshaw had maneuvered Col. Harper into a witch hunt of the DEO, J’onn had been willing to take the fall, to protect Kara, to protect Alex, to protect Astra. And as they had banded together to fight Henshaw and finally killed him, as he and Astra had gone on the run to avoid Cadmus, he had to admit there were far worse partners in crime.

And as he and Kara watched Astra lift Fort Rozz into orbit to stop Myriad he realized that he was sad to see her go, that he prayed to a god he didn't believe in that she would live. And when Astra had proposed to Alex, offering nothing but her heart, he knew that it truly was love between them.

And as he watched Astra gently lift Alura Zor-El’s limp form from the crashed pod, he knew that she was no longer ‘just a hostile’, she hadn’t been for a long, long, long time,

No, she was family now…


	61. Kryptonian's Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Astra muses on her new lease on life

******

There were times when Astra still thought she was in a dream. Times when things just went _too_ well, too good, too…right.

Simply being with Kara again was one. Just the fact that Kara was willing to accept her again, to welcome her back into the fold was almost unbelievable. The fact that she could find friends again—Winn, Lucy, James—was simply incredible. Finding a comrade and kindred soul in the Last Son of Mars, awe inspiring.

But of all of those remarkable feats and twists of fate, the most incredible, the most awe-inspiring, the most astonishing aspect of her new life on Earth, was Alex.

She remembered their first meeting, back in that warehouse, as Alex lay on the dirty floor, a Hellgermite barb in her leg, Astra had been struck by her beauty, had been unable to resist running her finger along that fine cheekbone, to see if that skin was as soft as it seemed.

And later, as she watched Kara from afar, watching Alex as well, she found that the Human had drawn her in, pulling her like a fish on a line, she could struggle all she wished, fight with all her might, but only delay the inevitable, eventually she would be pulled to the surface, to lay in the light and heat sun, raw and exposed.

After she’d been ‘captured’ by the DEO, when J’onn and Alex had marched into her cell demanding answers, Astra had been unable to resist the temptation to admit how much she liked Alex, the fact that she was willing to even _try_ to beat the information out of her, knowing what she could do even without her powers, had taken great spirit.

At the hostage exchange, she’d gotten a glimpse at how much Non had truly changed, how he was willing to dishonor the agreement and kill scores of people. When she demanded a cease fire, she knew, deep down, buried deep where her heart had once been, now covered with stone and ice, that she wasn’t doing it for Kara. Not _only_ her at the very least.

Discovering that Non had sent a black mercy after Kara—the vile creatures used by the guards as crowd control—had terrified her, no matter how peaceful a death it would be.

So, she’d run, seeking out the one person who even possibly help

Alexandra

Finding out that she and Kara were sisters had been surprising, almost amusing even, and it was then she realized that line had grown taut, she was inching ever closer to the surface than before, but vowed to continue her mission, her cause, no matter the cost.

And that night, as she and Alex faced each other down, as she dueled with J’onn, as Alex held a kryptonite blade to her throat, the line had given one, final, jerk, and she was torn away, ripped away from the familiarity of her grief and anguish, from the horror of Fort Rozz to somewhere new, somewhere…promising.

That was why she’d kissed Alex right then and there. Because the stone and ice that once bound her heart had finally shattered. And as she kissed a startled Alex she suddenly felt so wonderfully… _alive_.

Tracking down Alex at her apartment had been inevitable after that, it wasn’t even a matter of ‘when’ or ‘if’, merely a matter ‘why didn’t I do this sooner?’. And as they talked, as she bared her heart to another, Astra realized that the strange sensation she felt around this Human was love. Powerful, all-encompassing love. The kind of love that could tear down empires, drive nations to war, or bring about a utopia.

When Non had taken Alex, she had not hesitated to take his life in return. It mattered little anymore. Nothing besides Alex and Kara did for her now.

And as time passed, as she joined the DEO, found a friend in J’onn, helped to finally put an end to Myriad, found her sister once more, defeated Cadmus and Medusa, she knew that it had all been possible because of love

She had wrong, oh so wrong. Myriad wasn’t the way to save the world. Far from it. No, only love could save the world.

It had saved her after all, hadn’t it?


	62. Agent's Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex muses on Astra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! Enjoy! :=)

******

When they had first met/encountered each other, Alex had been stunned by the resemblance to Alura. But the resemblance only went skin deep, the alien's bearing, voice, and tone clearly indicated that this was _not_ Alura Zor-El.

Thank god. Because she was gorgeous. Even with the threat of impending death, Alex had felt her stomach do a flip, felt a pleasant tingle as Astra had stroked her finger across her cheek. Ages later Astra would confess that she would never have harmed Alex had Kara not come to rescue her, that she would have made sure that any agent she'd captured was treated fairly and kindly.

And it was that strange compassion, that almost messianic mindset that had first drawn Alex in. When Astra had told her that she was here to save all of humanity, Alex believed her. At the very least, she had believed that Astra believed that anyway.

When Astra had been captured by the DEO and had told Alex that she liked her, Alex couldn't stop her mind from going full tilt in trying to analyze that phrase. While most would have probably just dismissed it as an attempt to psych her out (which Astra would later admit it had been just that), Alex couldn't help but wonder if Astra really _did_ 'like' her.

Which opened up a whole can of worms that she hadn't been brave enough to deal with at the time.

Seeing Astra standing behind her in Kara's apartment had been startling, especially when Astra had picked her up by the _neck_ (and Alex would be lying if she said that she didn't find that display of strength and power just the tiniest bit arousing), and when Astra said she was there to help, when she challenged their bond through Kara, Alex had felt a bit of hope shine through. If Astra could come to their side, could help them in their fight against the Fort Rozz escapees, then they could finally win the war.

Finding Astra on her couch later that night had been shocking, hearing her confession of love equally so. But the way that Astra had _looked_ at her...

No one had ever looked at her that way, no one had ever looked at her with such hope, such promise. Astra she knew would willingly, gladly, throw herself on a kryptonite grenade to save Alex.

It had been humbling to be looked at that way. Even more surprising was the revelation that she loved Astra in return.

And watching Astra duel with Non the desert, watching as she killed him without a second thought only made Alex love her more. Because as she and Kara had rushed up to Astra, as Non had pleaded with his dying breath that she take care of Astra, she finally _understood_ Astra. Astra wasn't a killer, she wasn't a murderer, she wasn't even a criminal really.

No. She was a desperate woman. A woman who would go to any lengths to save her loved ones. A woman who, if it came down it, would sacrifice the very planet she had been trying to save if it meant that she could save Alex and Kara.

And as they later faced down Carl Draper, the lone surviving guard from Fort Rozz, Alex saw the horrors that Astra had been through, the source of all her nightmares and fears given shape and form. She had tried to save her planet, her home, and only received brutality in return.

Anyone would lose their grip on their sanity after that.

And as they faced down Rudy Jones/Parasite, Kara's red kryptonite fueled rampage, J'onn's exposure as an alien, and the resurrected Hank Henshaw, and finally, Myriad, Alex learned how Astra functioned, how she survived. She seemed to thrive on pain and suffering, the more you beat her down, the stronger and more defiant she was.

And now, as she stands, listening to Astra propose to her, offering her marriage, Alex can't help but say yes.

How can she not when a goddess asks?

**END**


	63. Going to the Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Astra has another 'interesting' transformation. Sort of follow up to "Rascal"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just took my dog to get his hair cut today, got inspired

******

“You know,” Alex began “this one takes the cake,” she sighed

Astra grumbled in response

“Don’t you give me that!” Alex objected “oh no! You’re not putting the blame on me this time. Oh no, this one is all on you!”

Astra scowled and sank back down on the gurney. Alex chuckled and reached out and lightly petted the top of Astra’s head

“Still,” she began “considering what red kryptonite did to Kara, I think we got off lucky”

“Alex,” Astra began “I’m a _dog_! How is this in anyway ‘lucky’?!”

“You’re still cute?” Alex suggested

Astra scowled. Her current form was that of some type of large, black canine that seemed to be predominantly Labrador-like in appearance. Her mental capacity as well as her ability to speak had, thankfully, been unaffected, while her powers had been effectively neutralized (which Alex really needed to look into) but the fact remained that General Astra In-ze was now more likely to be called ‘General Arf-stra’ for the moment (Winn had already tried that joke and had nearly gotten his face bitten off by the general in question. he was currently off sulking with Lucy and Alura and complaining to anyone who would listen that Astra had no sense of humor)

“Fix it!” Astra ordered

“I’m working on it!” Alex insisted

“You’re giving me a belly rub,” Astra spat “that is no-t—oh, that feels good,” sighing, she slumped back over, closing her eyes in bless, only to snap them open suddenly “what’s that sound?” she asked

“Uh, that would be your...ahem...tail. Thumping against the gurney” Alex winched

Astra lunged upright to all four of her feet, wobbling as she tried to get used to the new method of locomotion

“ _ **FIX IT NOW!!!!**_ ” she roared…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm borrowing the idea that red kryptonite, like in the comics, because it's artificial affects Kryptonians differently each time, hence this


	64. Taking Stock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or Alex finds out that all the alien tech that the DEO's collected over the years may not be all that impressive. Takes place after Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back with more What We Are one-shots! Enjoy! Also, I regret to inform you all that now my internet provider is telling me that my software will be discontinued and not allow me to get back on-line on March 15th, so i might disappear again, hopefully not, fingers crossed! :=)

******

“OK,” Alex looked down at her clipboard “item number AAA-23465-D, solid light projector, capable of producing images of solid light in mid-air, found in East Africa in 1986. Possible offensive applications: unknown”

“Pen” Astra said suddenly, picking up the item in question, a metal rod about three feet long

“What?” Alex asked

“It’s a pen,” Astra explained. As if to explain this, she held up the device and gave it a little flick of her wrist, glowing gold motes of light flowing from the end as she wrote ‘Alex’ in neat, elegant flowing cursive “there, a pen. See?” she declared

“Huh,” Alex said, absently making a mark on her clipboard as she stared at the image of her name in glowing gold calligraphy “that’s…really good penmanship” she muttered

“I took a course at Oxford” Astra dismissed as she gave the ‘pen’ another flick, the glowing letters dispersing into individual motes of light again

“Did you really?” Alex asked, surprised

Astra smirked at her

“I didn’t spend the last twelve or so years—what is the expression?—under a rock,” she explained “no, I traveled the world, seeing what this planet has to offer” she explained

Alex nodded in quiet understanding as they moved deeper into the DEO’s storehouse where various alien artifacts from around the world had been gathered and stored. Since they now had Astra on their side (albeit currently on probation), J’onn had suggested that she and Alex go through the storehouse and see just what the hell they had in there, since most the alien technology could barely be identified by the DEO’s top agents, much less turned on.

“OK,” Alex checked the next crate, frowning as she opened it “item 66690-A: alien weapon capable of producing high-frequency sonic blasts. Research into offensive capabilities ongoing”

“No,” Astra picked up the device, a wide, flat object shaped like the letter D “musical instrument”

Alex blinked

“Musical instrument,” she repeated as she checked the clipboard “uh, says here that this thing deafened three agents permanently and shattered every window in a four block radius,” she read “sounds a little too aggressive for an instrument”

“Ah,” Astra ran her finger down a long groove on the device’s surface, then touched the surface softly, a deep resonating hum reverberating out as Astra played a short simple tune. She looked up at Alex, smirking “I think your agents may have turned the volume to maximum when they found this” she announced

Alex sighed as she scribbled another note on her clipboard

“J’onn’s going to love this,” she grumbled as they moved on down the aisle “the DEO’s been collecting this stuff for years, decades, and half of it all turns out to be junk” she spat as they came to the next crate “what’s this one? A hairdryer?” she wondered

“No, fuel injector,” Astra replied. She pointed to the large curled, tube-like object on a shelve above Alex’s head “ _that’s_ a hairdryer”

Alex sighed and scribbled down two more notes, one for each item

“Is there _anything_ useful in here?” she demanded as Astra meandered down the aisle, looking some sort of odd window shopper

“Well, that depends on your definition of ‘useful’, now doesn’t it?” Astra called back as she examined one object, looked at her clipboard, and then properly burst out laughing

“Oh boy,” Alex muttered, knowing that Astra’s sense of humor was…odd to put it mildly “OK, what’s this one?” she sighed as she came over and examined the item number “Astra?” she asked as Astra finally quieted down to a few snickers

“I’m sorry,” she chuckled “oh, I haven’t laughed that hard in years” she sighed

“So?” Alex asked, nodding towards the device “what is it?”

Astra smirked

“I think the colloquial term in English is…‘martial aid’?” she replied

Alex looked at the device and then at the description: ‘object capable of producing high-frequency vibrations capable of producing earthquakes and tremors’

“Oh,” she blinked as she made the connection, feeling her face heat up “that’s, uh, yeah OK, no, got it” she quickly scribbled down a quick note and then grabbed Astra’s arm and hauled her down the aisle.

******

It went on like that for the next two hours; a device that the DEO had found that could produce intense heat turned out to be the equivalent of a cigarette lighter. What they had thought was some sort of alien engine turned out to be a stove (which still had practical applications, Astra pointed out, people needed to eat after all). And what they thought was an honest to god flying saucer turned out to be, according to Astra, the equivalent of a hubcap.

“Are you sure she’s not yanking your chain?” J’onn asked after Alex turned her report

“I’m sure,” Alex nodded “she’s got a weird sense of humor, but she does want to keep Earth safe” she reminded him

J’onn sighed and rubbed at his head

“The government’s going to love this,” he muttered “eighty trillion dollars spent annually on our budget to collect…,” he looked back down at the report “a pen, a fuel injector, a musical instrument, a _sex toy_ , a lighter, a stove, a hubcap, a paint gun, a child’s toy, a compass, a _shoebox_ , a…”

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone who has anymore ideas, please drop me a line, just remember that they must be fluffy ;=)


End file.
